Israeli forces have intensified their airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, leading to significant casualties and escalating the ongoing conflict with Hamas. Palestinian health officials reported that at least 60 people were killed in various strikes on southern and central Gaza on Tuesday.
The most deadly strike occurred near a gas station outside Khan Younis, a region designated by Israel as a "safe zone" for displaced Palestinians. Officials at Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital confirmed that 17 people were killed in this strike. This area is densely populated with tent camps sheltering those fleeing the conflict.
"There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike," reported an official. The strike happened in the same area where, just days earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed over 90 Palestinians, including children. This attack was allegedly targeting Mohammed Deif, Hamas' top military commander, whose status remains unclear.
The latest airstrikes came as Israel and Hamas continue to negotiate a potential ceasefire. Hamas has indicated that talks aimed at ending the nine-month-long conflict would proceed despite the intensified Israeli attacks.
The Israeli military stated that it conducted "targeted raids on terror targets" in central Gaza but did not provide specific details. In Nuseirat and Zawaida refugee camps, airstrikes on four houses resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people, including 10 women and four children. Another strike on a school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat killed nine people. The bodies, some wrapped in blankets, were taken to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Further strikes in Khan Younis and Rafah overnight Monday and into Tuesday killed 12 more people. The military confirmed that over the past day, their air force planes struck approximately 40 targets in Gaza, including observation posts, Hamas military structures, and buildings rigged with explosives.
The conflict in Gaza, sparked by Hamas' attack on October 7, has resulted in over 38,600 deaths, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. This ongoing war has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents and causing widespread hunger.
Hamas' initial attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants took around 250 hostages. According to Israeli authorities, about 120 hostages remain in captivity, with a third believed to be dead.
Efforts to mediate a ceasefire, led by Egypt and Qatar, have faced significant challenges. Negotiations stalled on Saturday after three days of intense talks failed to yield a viable outcome. An Israeli strike targeting Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Deif, further complicated these efforts, killing more than 90 people and wounding hundreds in Khan Younis.
A Palestinian official close to the negotiations noted that Hamas is eager to end the conflict but not at any price. "Hamas wants the war to end, but it says it has shown the necessary flexibility and is pushing the mediators to get Israel to reciprocate," the official stated. Hamas believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to avoid a deal by adding more conditions that restrict the return of displaced people to northern Gaza and maintain control over the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed that two senior advisers to Netanyahu had reiterated Israel's commitment to reaching a ceasefire.
The relentless airstrikes have taken a heavy toll on Gaza's civilian population. In Rafah, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, while in Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and two children were killed. An Israeli airstrike on a car in Khan Younis killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 26 others. In the historic Nuseirat camp, separate shelling and aerial strikes killed at least four Palestinians.
The Gaza health ministry reported that an Israeli airstrike on a UN-run school in Nuseirat, which housed displaced families, killed 16 people and wounded many others.
The violence has also extended to the West Bank, where a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli policeman before being killed by another officer. The assailant was identified as a 19-year-old from Gaza.
