Fire rains down from the sky during Israel‘s latest missile attack on Gaza as the Middle Eastern 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.
Enormous explosions blasted the camp’s infrastructure, as Palestinians watched on in horror as the destruction unfolded.
Some were seen running for cover after an Israeli missile hit a residential building in the camp, while thick black smoke and dust covered the area following the strike.
It comes after Israel’s 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, all died several months ago while being 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 being held by Hamas.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a separate video address: ‘We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Yunis during our operation there against Hamas.’
Smoke and flames rise over a destroyed building following the Israeli attacks on Al Bureij Camp in Deir al-Balah
Explosions destroy buildings in the Al Bureij Camp in Deir al-Balah
Fire rains down from the sky during Israel ‘s latest missile attack on Gaza
Palestinians watch on in horror as an Israeli air strike destroys a building in the Al Bureije refugee camp
Flames fill the sky in the Al Bureij Camp in Deir al-Balah on June 3
Two Palestinian women walk past the ruins of a building in Al Bureij
An Israeli missile is captured moments before hitting Bureij camp in Deir al Balah
Hamas claimed in May that Popplewell died as a result of an airstrike but has yet to provide 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 found out that his father and mother Nurit, 79, were abducted by Hamas.
Amiram and Nurit had called Nir Oz — a kibbutz about a mile outside Gaza — their home for seven decades, ABC San Diego reported last October.
Rotem added that his parents told him they locked themselves in a bomb shelter at their home.
Amiram Cooper, left, and Chaim Peri, right, were part of the same kibbutz just a mile outside of Gaza
Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51, were among the hundreds of Israelis who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7
Amiram Cooper (second from the right) and Nurit Cooper (red shirt) are pictured with their family
‘They told me they basically closed themselves in that room, but there is no way to lock the door,’ he said.
Not long after, he couldn’t get a hold of 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 no blood stains, which gave him hope that they were still alive.
Amiram and Nurit were held in the same room underground along with five other residents from the kibbutz, Rotem told The Times of Israel.
Nurit was released on October 23 and is still recuperating at home with her family.
Metzger, Cooper, and Peri, all near or past 80 years old, were featured in a Hamas propaganda video in December where they are 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 all of them were living in very harsh conditions.
Flames destroy a building in the Al Bureij Camp in Deir al-Balah
Smoke and flames rise during an Israeli air strike in central Gaza Strip
Smoke rises during an Israeli air strike in central Gaza Strip
Smoke rises from the Al-Magahazi building that is bombed during the Israeli attacks at the Al Bureij Camp
Dust and black smoke rises moments after an Israeli air strike targeted a residential building in the city of Bureij
Palestinians watch on in horror as an Israeli air strike hits a residential building
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed President Biden’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire, labelling it as a ‘non-starter’.
Mr Netanyahu wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.’
‘Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place.
The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter.’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed President Biden’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire, labelling it as a ‘non-starter’
Palestinians run moments after an Israeli air strike targeted a residential building
Dust and debris falls from the residential building that was targeted by an Israeli air strike
It is believed the Israeli PM’s statement on June 1 may have been made to placate hardliners such as security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir within his government who have threatened to bring down the administration if Hamas is not fully destroyed.
Experts said the Israeli leader has not said an outright ‘no’ to the deal, but wants to make it in his terms.
Mr 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 deal Mr Biden is backing would see a six-week ceasefire while the two sides negotiate a permanent end to the fighting.