GAZA / DEIR AL-BALAH: In a renewed wave of deadly air and ground operations across the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have killed at least 60 Palestinians since late Monday night, according to local officials, as its military expands what it describes as a final push to dismantle Hamas and secure the release of hostages.
Palestinian civil defense authorities and the Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that overnight bombardments—beginning at 1:00 a.m. local time—have resulted in the deaths of at least 44 civilians, including women and children, in what they called “massacres” committed by Israeli forces in multiple locations throughout the enclave.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for the Gaza Civil Defense, told AFP that rescuers pulled bodies from bombed-out homes, a gas station, and even a school sheltering displaced families. “What we are witnessing is beyond tragic—it is indiscriminate and relentless,” he said.
In Gaza City, eight civilians were killed when Israeli airstrikes targeted a school being used as a shelter by displaced families. The attack occurred despite the facility’s designation as a civilian shelter. In the central town of Deir al-Balah, 12 people were killed after a residential house was flattened in a targeted strike. Near the Nuseirat refugee camp, 15 more civilians died when a gas station was hit, igniting a massive explosion that sent fireballs into nearby homes. And in the overcrowded Jabalia refugee camp, nine members of a single family perished after their house was struck in the early morning hours.
At the time of reporting, the Israeli military had not issued a statement confirming or denying these particular strikes.
Israel launched what it termed “extensive ground operations” on Sunday, intensifying its offensive with troops from five divisions operating across multiple fronts in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that Israeli forces aim to establish control over “all of Gaza” in order to “complete victory” over Hamas and ensure the release of remaining hostages.
“These operations are critical,” Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting on Monday. “We will not stop until Hamas is completely dismantled, and every last hostage is returned.”
Israeli authorities say their “military campaign” is justified by the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters launched a coordinated cross-border assault into southern Israel, killing 1,218 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages. According to the Israeli military, 57 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 who are believed to be dead.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 3,340 people have been killed since March 18, when Israel resumed large-scale strikes following a breakdown in ceasefire negotiations. The ministry says the overall death toll in Gaza since the war began now exceeds 53,486, with tens of thousands more injured. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Since Thursday alone, over 400 people have been killed, according to ministry officials.
Satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts confirm that parts of Rafah, Khan Younis, and northern Gaza have been flattened. Gaza residents have described non-stop explosions, fighter jet raids, and an atmosphere of total chaos, as military operations stretch into densely populated areas once deemed “safe zones.”
One of the most targeted areas recently is near the European Hospital in Khan Younis, where Israel said it aimed to eliminate Muhammad Sinwar, brother of Hamas’s top leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The military has not confirmed his status. Hamas has also remained silent.
The Israeli military insists that it uses “precise munitions” and issues advance warnings ahead of some strikes. Still, human rights organizations continue to raise alarm over what they describe as disproportionate use of force and disregard for civilian life in a sealed-off enclave already reeling from more than 19 months of warfare.
As fighting escalates, the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents face worsening living conditions. Most have been forcibly displaced multiple times. Makeshift tent cities now line the coast and open fields, where basic necessities are scarce or nonexistent.
On Monday, Israel issued new evacuation orders for Khan Younis, including the town of Abasan. Residents say they fear this is yet another forced displacement.
“If they tell us ‘leave,’ that will be a great catastrophe,” said Suzanne Abu Daqqa, a resident of Abasan, speaking by phone. “There’s nowhere safe left to go.”
The Israeli military followed up on Tuesday with a chilling ultimatum: “Evacuate now or face an unprecedented attack.”
Meanwhile, after facing mounting international pressure—including from the United States, its main ally—Israel allowed five aid trucks into Gaza on Monday, the first in over two months. Two of those trucks, ironically, carried burial shrouds.
UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher described the convoy as “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed,” reiterating that basic survival items, clean water, and medical supplies are severely lacking.
Until recently, Israeli officials insisted Gaza was adequately provisioned. However, internal assessments reportedly concluded that famine conditions are imminent unless some aid is allowed through. Netanyahu himself conceded that international support for Israel’s operations could wane if Gazans were seen starving.
“If people in Gaza begin dying of hunger, the world will turn on us. And we won’t be able to complete our victory,” he warned in a statement issued Sunday night.
While Israel continues to justify genocide, global outrage is intensifying. Humanitarian organizations, UN bodies, and foreign governments have condemned the scale of civilian suffering and the near-total destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently announced a preliminary investigation into whether war crimes or crimes against humanity have been committed by either side. Prosecutors said they are particularly focused on indiscriminate attacks, the targeting of civilians, collective punishment, and the withholding of humanitarian aid.
“The situation in Gaza is deteriorating by the hour,” said Lynn Hastings, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. “What we are witnessing now is not just a humanitarian catastrophe—it is a moral failure on an international scale.”
With no clear end to the war in sight, and peace negotiations at a standstill, Gaza faces yet another night of terror under fire. Thousands continue to flee, burying loved ones in hurried graves as bombs rain down.
For now, the people of Gaza remain trapped—under siege, and under fire.
