At least 58 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight and early Thursday morning, according to reports from three local hospitals. The Israeli military struck homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women, and children while they were sleeping.
Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that had halted the fighting and facilitated the release of several dozen hostages. The Israeli government blamed Hamas – the group classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU – for resuming hostilities after the militant group rejected a new proposal differing from the terms of an agreement previously signed between the parties.
More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the recent attacks in Gaza, which killed hundreds of people, are “just the beginning.” Hamas has not been reported to have launched rockets or carried out other attacks.
One of the airstrikes early Thursday morning hit the home of the Abu Daqa family in Abasan al-Kabira, a village near Khan Younis, close to the Israeli border. The Israeli military had ordered residents to evacuate earlier in the week. The attack killed at least 16 people, mostly women and children, according to the nearby European Hospital, which received the bodies. Among the deceased were a father and his seven children, as well as the parents and brother of a one-month-old baby who survived along with the baby’s grandparents.
“Another difficult night,” said Hani Awad, who helped rescuers search for survivors under the rubble. “The house collapsed on people’s heads.”
Israel, which has also cut off food, fuel, and humanitarian aid to approximately 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, has vowed to intensify operations until Hamas frees the remaining 59 hostages – 35 of whom are believed to be dead – and relinquishes control of Gaza.
The Trump administration, which brokered the ceasefire, has expressed full support for Israel.
Hamas has stated that it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire agreement reached in January following over a year of mediation by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on Thursday’s airstrikes.
The European Hospital in the southern city of Rafah reported receiving 26 bodies following overnight airstrikes, mostly women and children. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies of seven people killed in an airstrike on a house. In northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital reported receiving the bodies of seven people killed in an airstrike on a house in Beit Lahia, a town near the border.
The war began when Hamas-led militants infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Most of the hostages have been freed through ceasefire agreements or other negotiations. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages alive and found the bodies of dozens more.
Israel’s retaliatory war, one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed nearly 49,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The war has displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population and caused widespread destruction across the territory. Hundreds of thousands returned to their homes during the ceasefire, only to find fields of rubble and buildings destroyed by airstrikes.
