Gaza City: Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children, two women, and four female police officers, marking one of the deadliest days since the mid-October ceasefire with Hamas. Gaza’s health ministry and hospitals reported the toll from dawn attacks on residential areas, tents, and a police station, with many trapped under rubble as rescue efforts continue, reports said.
According to reports, the strikes hit Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, al-Tuffah, al-Jalaa Street, and al-Nasr; Khan Younis’ Asdaa and Ghaith camps; Bureij refugee camp; and Sheikh Radwan police station, igniting fires in displacement shelters. Nasser Hospital confirmed seven deaths—a father, three sons, and three grandchildren—in a tent blaze; Shifa Hospital noted a mother, three children, and a relative killed in Rimal. Al-Aqsa Hospital received 13 bodies from the police station strike, the reports said.
The IDF justified the operations as responses to Friday’s ceasefire breaches, targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants emerging from Rafah tunnels, killing three and capturing one. Strikes also hit infrastructure in Rafah, Bureij, and Mawasi, causing material damage despite evacuation warnings, the reports said. Gaza’s Civil Defense controlled fires at Ghaith camp, while search operations seek missing persons.
The violence, one day before Rafah crossing’s planned reopening to Egypt — the first since May 2024 — has killed over 524 Palestinians and wounded 1,360 since October, per Gaza media office, with 1,450 Israeli violations including 50 arrests. Hospitals warn the toll may rise amid overwhelmed facilities treating critical injuries, 25% children.
This escalation threatens fragile truce talks, with total Gaza war deaths exceeding 50,000 per Hamas-run ministry.
