The Guardian view on Gaza’s unending war: a deal is as distant as ever – but more essential

Mounting deaths and regional escalation have failed to bring closer a ceasefire and the release of hostages

Joe Biden insisted it was time for this war to end and the day after to begin" as he promoted a three-phase peace deal. Hours later, Benjamin Netanyahu shot it down as a non-starter". One week on, an agreement looks as remote as ever.

More than 36,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, says its health ministry. More Israeli hostages seized in the murderous raid by Hamas on 7 October have died. On Thursday Israel bombed a UN school in central Gaza, killing at least 33 of the thousands of displaced people sheltering there, including 12 women and children, according to witnesses and hospital records. The Israel Defense Forces said it was a precise" strike on Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters using it as a base. What is clear is that the IDF is fighting in places where it was supposed to have eliminated Hamas, while civilians are forced to return to those areas by the assault on Rafah.