Airstrikes in recent days have brought a constant drumbeat of deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, even as Israel has pulled back or scaled down major ground offensives in the north and south. Almost daily strikes have hit the “safe zone” covering some 60 square kilometers (23 square miles) along the Mediterranean coast, where Israel told fleeing Palestinians to take refuge to escape ground assaults. Israel has said it is pursuing Hamas militants who are hiding among civilians after offensives uprooted underground tunnel networks.

Tuesday’s deadliest strike hit a main street lined with market stalls outside the southern city of Khan Younis in Muwasi, at the heart of the zone that is packed with tent camps. Officials at Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital said 17 people were killed.

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The annual Muslim pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mecca that wrapped up last week became a death march for over 1,300 Hajj participants who died in temperatures that climbed above 124 degrees.

Saudi Arabia's health minister Fahad Al-Jalajel, who on Sunday announced a death total of 1,301, blamed the fatalities on pilgrims "walking long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort."

The 5-6 day odyssey of hiking and prayer drew almost 2 million pilgrims from around the world. Fatalities included a number of elderly people and those suffering from chronic diseases, A-Jalajel said. About  83% of the fatalities were among people who were not authorized to make the pilgrimage, he said.

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The Biden administration's proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza received the United Nations' endorsement Monday when the Security Council voted 14-0 in favor of a resolution supporting the plan, with only Russia abstaining but not vetoing. Still, acceptance by the warring parties remains elusive.

The U.S. drafted the measure and finalized it Sunday after six days of negotiations among council members. The three-stage proposal would bring about an immediate stop in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, along with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed misgivings about the version of the plan President Joe Biden made public May 31, though the White House has said Israel was involved in crafting it. Netanyahu is under pressure from the far-right flank of his governing coalition to continue the war, and in addition to the truce the proposal calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and, in the second phase, a permanent end to the conflict.

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