At least 25 people, including women and children, have been killed across the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli strikes on April 20, according to the Civil Defense Agency in Gaza, reports RFE.
Israel resumed its air and ground assaults on Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire that had temporarily paused the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas—a group designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union.
“Since dawn today, Israeli air raids have killed 20 people and wounded dozens more, including women and children throughout Gaza,” said Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense Agency, in a statement to AFP. In a separate update, the agency also reported five additional deaths from Israeli drone attacks in Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the ongoing campaign, vowing to continue the war and secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas.
“We are in a critical phase of the campaign,” said Netanyahu in a statement on April 19. “At this point, we need patience and determination to win,” he added, dismissing calls from Palestinian factions to end the conflict and withdraw troops from Gaza.
Since Israel resumed its offensive last month, at least 1,827 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The total death toll in Gaza since the start of the war has now reached 51,201, the majority of them civilians, according to the same ministry—figures considered credible by the United Nations.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023, which resulted in the killing of nearly 1,200 people and the abduction of around 250 others. Of those taken hostage, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military.
