GAZA   -   Seven members of the same family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Sunday, medical officials said, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal. Six children and their mother were killed in the airstrike on a home in Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to the Al-Aqsa hospital. The children’s father was injured, a hospital spokesperson said. Muhammad Awad Khattab, the children’s grandfather, told CNN: “They were taken by surprise when a missile hit them and completely destroyed their apartment.”  “What did they do to deserve this?” he added. “What resistance did they have?”

As the war rages in Gaza, Blinken landed in Israel on Sunday night where he will, in the words of a senior administration official, “continue to stress the importance of getting this [deal] done.” The top US diplomat will meet on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog, according to a senior State Department official. Following his meetings in Israel, Blinken will continue on to Egypt on Tuesday. Cairo has been a key negotiator in the ceasefire talks. The fresh strike in Gaza comes just a day after an Israeli strike killed at least 15 people, all from the same famly, in the al-Zawayda area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Nine children were among those killed, according to Gaza Civil Defense. In a statement Sunday, the Israeli military said forces continue to operate in Khan Younis and Dir al-Balah. It said the military struck “targets in the area from which the launches were fired toward Nirim (Friday) and destroyed loaded launchers in the area of Khan Younis.” The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in north Khan Younis and east Deir al-Balah on Friday, further reducing the boundaries of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone. Palestinians in Gaza have faced constant evacuation orders. According to the UN, since October of last year, more than 80% of the Gaza Strip has been subjected to such orders, severely impacting the local population’s access to essential services and shelter. Israel’s campaign in Gaza – launched following the Hamas attacks of October 7 – has killed more than 40,000 people and reduced much of the territory to rubble.

 Adding to Gazans’ woes, doctors this week detected the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years.

Blinken’s arrival comes amid urgent efforts to finalize an elusive Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. A new ceasefire plan drawn up by the US, Qatar and Egypt was presented on Friday following two days of high stakes talks in Doha. Mediators have been stepping up efforts amid fears of Iranian retaliation for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran. Blinken’s visit has become an established pattern from the top US diplomat of traveling for in-person meetings to project high-level public pressure around the need for an agreement.

The senior administration official would not say how the US intends to pressure the Israeli government to take the deal.

“Think it is apparent that a deal would not only be in the interest of the Israeli people, but would also help alleviate some of the suffering in Gaza. We’re going to raise all of these issues directly,” they told the press traveling with Blinken.

US officials including President Joe Biden have expressed fresh optimism of finalizing a ceasefire agreement. However, Hamas has dismissed the progress, with a senior official from the militant group telling the BBC that mediators were “selling illusions.”

In a statement issued on Sunday, the militant group blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “obstructing” a deal from being reached. It said the latest proposal made following high-stakes discussions between mediators in Doha does not include a permanent ceasefire and introduced new conditions in the prisoner exchange, among other issues.

“After listening to the mediators about the recent round of talks in Doha, it became clear to us once again that Netanyahu continues to place obstacles to reaching an agreement, sets new conditions and demands in order to thwart the efforts of the mediators and prolong the war,” Hamas said in a statement.

“The new proposal meets Netanyahu’s conditions and is in line with them, especially his refusal to a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of Netzarim Junction and the Rafah Crossing and Philadelphi Corridor. He also introduced new conditions in the prisoner exchange file and backtracked on other terms, hindering the completion of the exchange deal,” the Hamas statement read.

“We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts, obstructing reaching an agreement, and the full responsibility for the lives of his soldiers who are exposed to the same danger our people face, due to his continued aggression and deliberate targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip,” the statement continued.

Hamas reiterated its desire to enact a three-phase proposal introduced by Biden, which would include the release of hostages from Gaza, a “full and complete ceasefire,” and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. The organization called on mediators to “compel the occupation to implement” that plan.

Previously, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office had said the Israeli negotiating team was still cautiously optimistic about reaching a ceasefire-hostage deal. A statement from the PMO on Saturday said there was “hope that the heavy pressure” on Hamas from the United States and mediators will “allow a breakthrough in negotiations.”

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel is “holding very complex negotiations” for the release of “our hostages.”

Calling the return of hostages a national mission of the highest order, Netanyahu said Israel must negotiate with a “murderous terrorist organization that is unbridled and obstinate.”

A statement released later from Netanyahu’s office said Israel would not be “giving in to Hamas’s demand” to end the war in Gaza as a condition of a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“The prime minister has strongly insisted on this fundamental demand, which is vital to achieving the goals of the war, and Hamas changed its position,” the statement said.

Netanyahu also insisted on remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor “in order to prevent terrorist elements from rearming.”

“The prime minister will continue to work on advancing a deal that will maximize the number of living hostages and which will enable the achieving of all of the war objectives,” the Israeli statement added.