Fire rains from the sky during Israel’s latest missile attack on Gaza as the Middle East conflict shows no signs of ending.
Photographs taken today show smoke and flames engulfing buildings in the Al Bureij camp in Deir al-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip.
Huge explosions tore through the camp’s infrastructure, as Palestinians watched in horror as the destruction unfolded.
Some were seen running for cover after an Israeli missile hit a residential building in the camp, as thick black smoke and dust covered the area after the attack.
It comes after the Israeli military confirmed the deaths of four more hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack on a music festival.
Nadav Popplewell, 51, Yoram Metzger, 80, Amiram Cooper, 84, and Chaim Peri, 79, died several months ago while held by Hamas in the Khan Younis area. The times of Israel reported today.
It is understood that Israeli representatives have informed their families that they are no longer alive and that their bodies are currently in the hands of Hamas.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in another video: “We assess that the four died while together in the Khan Yunis area during our operation there against Hamas.”
Smoke and flames rise over a destroyed building following Israeli attacks on Al Bureij camp in Deir al-Balah
Explosions destroy buildings in Al Bureij camp in Deir al-Balah
Fire rains from the sky during Israel’s latest missile attack on Gaza
Palestinians watch in horror as an Israeli airstrike destroys a building in the Al Bureije refugee camp.
Flames fill the sky at Al Bureij field in Deir al-Balah on June 3
Two Palestinian women walk past the ruins of a building in Al Bureij.
Israeli missile captured moments before hitting the Bureij camp in Deir al Balah
Hamas claimed in May that Popplewell died as a result of an airstrike, but has not yet provided evidence of this, PBC reported.
Months earlier, the terrorist organization Al-Qassam Brigades claimed that Peri, Cooper and Metzger were among seven hostages killed in an Israeli airstrike, NBC reported.
Amiram Cooper has a son named Rotem who lives in San Diego, and as the attacks in Israel were unfolding, Rotem discovered that his father and mother Nurit, 79, were kidnapped by Hamas.
Amiram and Nurit had called Nir Oz, a kibbutz a mile from Gaza, their home for seven decades, ABC San Diego reported last October.
Rotem added that his parents told him that they locked themselves in a bomb shelter in their house.
Amiram Cooper, left, and Chaim Peri, right, were part of the same kibbutz just a mile from Gaza.
Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51, were among hundreds of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
Amiram Cooper (second from right) and Nurit Cooper (red shirt) pictured with their family.
“They told me they basically locked themselves in that room, but there was no way to close the door,” he said.
Not long after, he was unable to locate his parents, so he flew to Israel as soon as he could, arriving three days later.
Rotem found bullet holes in the door leading to his parents’ bomb shelter, but found no bloodstains, giving him hope that they were still alive.
Amiram and Nurit were held in the same underground room along with five other kibbutz residents, Rotem told The Times of Israel.
Nurit was released on October 23 and is still recovering at home with her family.
Metzger, Cooper and Peri, all of whom are in their late 80s or older, appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in December where they can be heard pleading with Israel: “Don’t let us grow old here.”
Peri, a resident of Nir Oz along with Cooper and his wife Nurit, explained in the video that he was being held with other elderly hostages with chronic illnesses, and that they were all living in very harsh conditions.
Flames destroy a building in Al Bureij camp in Deir al-Balah
Smoke and flames rise during Israeli airstrike in central Gaza Strip
Smoke rises during Israeli airstrike in central Gaza Strip
Smoke rises from Al-Magahazi building bombed during Israeli attacks on Al Bureij camp
Dust and black smoke rise moments after an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in the town of Bureij.
Palestinians watch in horror as Israeli airstrike hits residential building
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected President Biden’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire, calling it “impossible.”
Netanyahu wrote on for Israel.”
‘Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is established.
The idea that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are met is impossible.’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected President Biden’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire, calling it “impossible.”
Palestinians run moments after Israeli airstrike targets residential building
Dust and debris fall from residential building targeted by Israeli airstrike
It is believed that the Israeli prime minister’s June 1 statement may have been made to placate hardliners such as Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir within his government, who have threatened to overthrow the administration if Hamas does not. is completely destroyed.
Experts said the Israeli leader has not said an outright “no” to the deal, but wants to close it on his terms.
Biden said: “I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely.” Some are even in the government coalition.’
The new three-phase agreement that Biden supports would mean a six-week ceasefire while the two sides negotiate a permanent end to the fighting.