U.S. hosts discussions on Gaza

Talks take place even as Israel says evacuation of city is 'inevitable'

- WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ AND SALLY ABOU ALJOUD

AN ISRAELI FLAG waves over debris in an area of the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Tuesday.

Israeli and U.S. officials met Wednesday in Washington to discuss postwar Gaza, even as Israel’s military called the evacuation of Gaza City “inevitable” ahead of a new offensive and with no sign of a ceasefire in sight.

The meeting took place amid mounting outrage over this week’s double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders and others. The toll from the attack on Nasser Hospital rose to 22 after two more people died Wednesday, Gaza health officials said.

The Israeli military, which has said it will investigate, offered no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants.

As a growing chorus of international leaders urge Israel to reconsider its offensive and commit to talks, Pope Leo XIV called for Israel to halt the “collective punishment” and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.

Preparing Gaza City for an evacuation

Aid groups warn that an expanded Israeli military offensive could worsen the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory, where most of the more than 2 million residents have been displaced, neighborhoods lie in ruins and a famine has been declared in Gaza City.

The Israeli military on Wednesday told residents of Gaza City to prepare to leave.