At least 93 have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip on Friday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported. The attacks came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a regional tour centered on the Middle East, igniting new expectations for a ceasefire and a humanitarian intervention that have not yet occurred.
Nighttime raids struck neighborhoods throughout Gaza, including Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, with heavy shelling witnessed in the Jabaliya refugee camp and the northern town of Beit Lahiya. Families were observed evacuating on foot, by car, and on donkey carts, with most carrying nothing but what they had on when they left.
We emerged from home with trouble, killing and death, we didn’t take anything,” Feisal Al-Attar, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya, said.
Israel reported that it had hit 150 targets over 24 hours, including militant infrastructure and anti-tank sites. The military said the strikes were preparatory for a broader operation to destroy Hamas if talks on the release of hostages do not move forward.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to intensify military action, declaring Israeli troops were preparing to enter Gaza “with great strength” to “complete the mission” of wiping out Hamas. A Cabinet official said members met on Friday to review talks ongoing in Qatar.
During his final stop in Abu Dhabi, President Trump addressed the worsening crisis, saying, “We’re looking at Gaza… A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The recent strikes are in the context of a blockade of Gaza that has now continued for three months, limiting food, fuel, and medicine from entering. Israel justifies the blockade as a means to exert pressure on Hamas to free hostages, 58 of whom are still being held hostage, with only 23 thought to be alive.
The conflict, which started after 1,200 Israelis were killed in an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, has claimed more than 53,000 Palestinian lives, most of them women and children, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.
In the meantime, the newly created U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation plans to start delivering aid by month’s end, although humanitarian organizations and the UN have criticized the plan for not following international humanitarian standards.
Hostage families reacted in despair to Friday’s developments, urging Netanyahu to back diplomatic action. “Missing this historic chance for a deal to release the hostages would be a deafening failure that will live in infamy eternally,” they complained.
(News Source:AP)