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00:00We start in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli strike before dawn
00:04hit a crowded area for Palestinians displaced by the conflict.
00:09The explosion set tents on fire and buried people alive.
00:15The health ministry in Gaza says at least 19 people have been killed,
00:19while emergency workers at the scene say the true toll could be far higher.
00:25The strike hit Mawassi, an area of Gaza that Israel has designated a safe zone for Palestinians.
00:32In the wake of the attack today, the Israeli army said it was targeting Hamas militants.
00:38With me now is Angela Diffley, our foreign editor.
00:40Angela, can you tell us a bit about what both sides are saying happened here?
00:44Yes. Importantly, when this story broke earlier this morning,
00:50there were reports of around 40 people being killed and 60 injured.
00:56Those figures have been revised downwards to 19 deaths.
01:01That is important because the figures really matter here.
01:06This area was designated a safe zone by the Israelis.
01:10They maintain that some key Hamas operatives
01:15were embedded using people in this camp as human shields,
01:19embedding themselves among civilians, and that they targeted and got those people.
01:26Under international law, and Israel maintains that it adheres to international law,
01:32you are allowed to target the enemy, even if it is within a civilian area,
01:38provided that you can prove that you have taken necessary precautions.
01:44Israel says that it used precise munitions,
01:47that it used aerial surveillance and some other measures.
01:51And the other important fact is that any civilian casualties must be proportionate.
01:57And that is where these figures will really matter.
01:59Now, this sort of thing is only decided much later on when these
02:02incidents are brought before international courts.
02:05Was the number of civilian casualties,
02:08can that be justified under international law under armed conflict?
02:13That is to be seen.
02:14Hamas say they were not embedded in this area.
02:18It should be said, in the past, Hamas have used civilian structures
02:23and have embedded themselves in civilian areas.
02:26That has been proved and there is some evidence that they are doing it again.
02:30They say they were not in this case.
02:32And they say that if you look at the damage, those huge,
02:35they say that if you look at the damage, those huge craters in the camp,
02:39it is out of all proportion to the targets that the Israelis said they were trying to hit.
02:46And that they say the Israelis are lying and that their narrative should be debunked.
02:52This is all about the public relations war,
02:54the public information war between Israel and Hamas since this thing started,
02:59because it really matters what the outside world thinks.
03:02Because as more and more people outside this area look at what is going on and make decisions,
03:08they are persuading their governments to act and in some cases to cut or
03:14stop sales of arms to Israel because they are unhappy with how the Israelis are operating.
03:20And Angela, look, a couple of months ago,
03:21there was some kind of hope that a truce deal was close at hand between Hamas and Israel.
03:28Now, though, it feels rather far away, doesn't it?
03:31Yeah, there are reports that Joe Biden is trying to make one last-ditch
03:36attempt to get negotiators together.
03:39We will see.
03:41In May, we were told they were edging closer.
03:43And since then, on both sides, it appears that there are new conditions.
03:48Netanyahu on the Israeli side has introduced this idea of the Philadelphia corridor,
03:54which is a strip on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
03:59He says that if Israel withdraws from that, then weapons will continue to be smuggled.
04:04The hostages might be smuggled out.
04:06He says it's vital.
04:07His military say it isn't important to keep that,
04:09that the Israeli military could withdraw and could go back in if necessary.
04:13Netanyahu maintains that there would be an international outcry.
04:16Opponents of Netanyahu say this is simply a ruse.
04:20He doesn't want a deal because if there's a ceasefire,
04:23the far right will leave his coalition.
04:25He will be toppled.
04:26A majority of Israelis want a deal because they want the hostages back.
04:31On the Palestinian side,
04:33Yair Yassinwe appears to be hiding in the tunnels.
04:36No one polls the Palestinian people.
04:39It is not a democracy.
04:40We do not know what they feel about how much more they can endure of this.
04:45And on his side, he has changed his demands and wants
04:48a bigger number of prisoners in Israeli jails to be released.
04:53So both sides have toughened their position.
04:55And in the middle of all that, Gazan people are suffering.
04:58Angela Diffley, thank you.