Israeli airstrike kills 10 people, half of them children, as mediators try to restart a ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike flattened a three-story home in Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 people — half of them children — as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.

Israeli strikes killed at least 49 people in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.

The dead in the early morning airstrike in a neighborhood in western Gaza City included three women and five children, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.

Israel's military said that it had struck a Hamas militant and the structure where he operated collapsed, adding that the collapse was under review.

“There is no one from the resistance among them,” said Saed Al-Khour, who lost his family in the strike. “Since 1 o’clock until now we have been pulling out the remains of children, women and elderly people.” He stood amid the rubble, under a tilted ceiling.

Three other people were killed in the Shati refugee camp along Gaza City's shoreline.

Hamas said Saturday that it had sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to try and get the ceasefire, shattered last month by Israeli bombardment, back on track.

Israel has vowed to continue the war until all hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely rejected internationally.

Hamas has said that it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January.

Hamas said that its delegation will discuss with Egyptian officials the group's vision to end the war, which also includes reconstruction.

Earlier this week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said.

Egypt and Qatar are developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief media.

Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade of Gaza, even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.

On Friday, the World Food Program said that its food stocks in Gaza had run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It said the dozens of charity kitchens it supports are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

About 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the U.N.

“Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 UNRWA trucks of lifesaving aid are ready to enter Gaza,” the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media. “The siege must stop.”

Hamas on Saturday called on the Trump administration to immediately reverse its decision that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees isn't immune from being sued, calling it a dangerous step by Israel's close ally.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The militants still have 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli army airstrike in Gaza City, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as they brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as they brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as they brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians bid farewell to their relatives who were killed in Israeli airstrikes early this morning on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli airstrike early this morning on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians bid farewell to their relatives who were killed in Israeli airstrikes early this morning on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)