Hospital officials in Gaza reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including children, as preparations continued for the next phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including several children, across Gaza on Saturday, according to hospital officials, marking one of the deadliest days since the ceasefire that took effect in October, as negotiations continued over the next phase of the truce.
Hospitals said the strikes hit multiple locations, including an apartment building in Gaza City, a tent camp in Khan Younis, and a police station in Gaza City. Medical officials reported that the casualties included two women and six children from two families. Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said an airstrike on the police station killed at least 14 people and wounded others.
The attacks came a day before the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is scheduled to reopen in Gaza’s southernmost city. The crossing, which has been closed for nearly the entire duration of the war, is viewed by Palestinians as a critical route for those seeking medical treatment outside the territory, where much of the healthcare system has been destroyed. Its limited reopening is expected to be the first major step in the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began on Oct. 10.
Nasser Hospital said a strike on a tent camp in Khan Younis sparked a fire that killed seven people, including a father, his three children, and three grandchildren. Atallah Abu Hadaiyed, who said he witnessed the aftermath, said he had just finished praying when the explosion occurred. “We came running and found my cousins lying here and there, with fire raging. We don’t know if we’re at war or at peace, or what. Where is the truce? Where is the ceasefire they talked about?” he said.
Shifa Hospital said another strike on an apartment building in Gaza City killed three children along with their aunt and grandmother. A relative, Samir Al-Atbash, said the victims were civilians with no ties to Hamas. “The three girls are gone, may God have mercy on them. They were asleep, we found them in the street,” he said. Names were written on body bags lined up against a wall at the hospital.
The hospital also reported that a man was killed in a separate strike on the eastern side of the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Egypt, one of the mediators of the ceasefire, condemned the Israeli strikes “in the strongest terms,” warning that they pose “a direct threat to the political course” of the truce.
Hamas described Saturday’s strikes as “a renewed flagrant violation” of the ceasefire and urged the United States and other mediators to pressure Israel to halt the attacks. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim wrote on X that “all available indicators suggest that we are dealing with a ‘Board of War,’ not a ‘Board of Peace,’” questioning the legitimacy of a Trump administration–proposed international body intended to govern Gaza.
Israel’s military said its recent attacks have been responses to violations of the ceasefire. In a statement, it said Saturday’s strikes followed what it described as breaches a day earlier, when Israeli forces killed at least four militants emerging from a tunnel in an Israeli-controlled area of Rafah.
The number of people reported killed Saturday was several times higher than the daily average since the ceasefire began. As of Friday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 520 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led government, maintains casualty records that United Nations agencies and independent experts have generally considered reliable.
The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Israeli authorities said the remains of the final hostage held in Gaza were recovered earlier this week.
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