Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The body of a toddler took up one end of an emergency stretcher.
As many as 32 people, including more than a dozen women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to local health officials. The renewed violence comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet President Donald Trump to discuss the ongoing war and efforts to negotiate a potential ceasefire.
Israel reignited its military campaign last month after ending a temporary truce with Hamas, seizing key territory in a strategic bid to pressure the militant group into accepting a new ceasefire deal and releasing the remaining hostages. In addition, Israel has enforced a blockade on the coastal enclave for over a month, cutting off vital supplies of food, fuel, and humanitarian aid to a region already dependent on external assistance. Tensions escalated further late Sunday when the Israeli military ordered evacuations of several neighborhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah. The directive came shortly after approximately 10 projectiles were launched from Gaza.
The military said about five were intercepted. Hamas’ military arm claimed responsibility. Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon city and fragments fell in several other areas. The Magen David Adom emergency service said one man was lightly injured. The military later said it struck a rocket launcher in Gaza. Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The body of a toddler took up one end of an emergency stretcher. A female journalist was also among the dead.
Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The bodies of seven people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist there. And a strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery and killed at least six, including three children, according to the civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government. Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for new anti-war protests. Footage on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.
Israel-Hamas war
It is to be noted here that the war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza — 24 believed to be alive, as per the Associated Press (AP). Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
(With inputs from AP)
