At least 25 Palestinians, including children, were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, marking one of the deadliest days since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect five weeks ago, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The attacks, which began shortly after sunset, targeted multiple sites in Gaza City and Khan Younis, shattering a period of relative calm and reigniting fears of renewed escalation. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defence agency, described the strikes as a “sharp escalation,” with rescuers pulling bodies from rubble amid ongoing drone and artillery barrages.
Israel’s military carried out deadly air strikes across Gaza yesterday, as the UN warned families lack adequate shelter for winter, with heavy rains flooding tents and damaging scarce food supplies.
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Key Incidents:
- Zeitoun neighbourhood, Gaza City: 10 killed in a strike on a religious endowments ministry building; rescuers recovered three young children’s bodies from debris.
- Shejaiya junction, Gaza City: 1 killed and several wounded when a drone hit a group on Salah al-Din Street.
- Mushtaha Street, Shejaiya: 1 killed in a tank shelling of the Balboul family home.
- Khan Younis: 13 killed, including 3 in a UNRWA sports club strike.
The ministry reported total casualties of 25 dead and over 50 injured, with Civil Defence videos showing workers extracting survivors under collapsed structures.
Ceasefire Violation Claims The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated the strikes targeted “Hamas terrorist targets” in response to “several terrorists” firing on soldiers in Khan Younis—constituting a “violation of the ceasefire agreement” with no IDF injuries. Israeli public broadcaster Kan cited sources claiming the hits eliminated the Zeitoun Battalion commander and naval force chief.
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Hamas denounced the assault as a “dangerous escalation” by “war criminal” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “resume genocide,” urging the US to enforce the truce. A US official countered to Reuters that Hamas seeks to “break the ceasefire” by failing to disarm, per the October 10 agreement.
The flare-up follows the UN Security Council’s Monday adoption of a US resolution endorsing Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, authorizing a Board of Peace transitional body (chaired by Trump) and a 20,000-strong ISF for demilitarization and reconstruction. The truce, holding tenuously since October 10 after two years of war (69,500+ Palestinian deaths), mandates Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal—conditions both sides accuse the other of breaching.
Since the ceasefire, Israeli strikes have killed at least 280 Palestinians and injured 672, per Gaza’s health ministry. Three IDF soldiers have died in alleged violations.
Wednesday’s strikes coincide with Israeli operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah weapons sites, amid accusations of rearming post-November 2024 truce. As the fragile peace hangs by a thread, calls mount for US mediation to prevent collapse.
