A Palestinian man mourns over the body of a child killed during Israeli bombardment, at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
The Israeli airstrike targeted a home on Baghdad Street in the Shujaiya neighbourhood, with several adjacent homes also struck.
Rescue teams are still searching for survivors beneath the rubble.
Gaza's civil defence agency spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, warned that the death toll could rise to 50 since most of the injuries are severe and include burns and amputations.
In a separate attack, two Palestinians, one of which is a child, were killed in a strike on an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to medical sources.
Israeli forces also bombed two tents sheltering displaced families west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing two people, including a woman.
Smoke billows at the site of an Israeli strike on a residential area in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighbourhood, on April 9, 2025. AFP
Ground assaults expand
Israeli military forces continued to demolish residential buildings in northwestern Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Wednesday, according to eyewitnesses cited by Al Jazeera.
The occupation's artillery shelling also targeted eastern Gaza City, while ground forces heavily fired on the same region.
Israeli military sources confirmed to Israel Hayom that they are expanding ground operations in the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli 36th Division now operating in southern Rafah and Tel Al-Sultan.
The Palestinian health ministry reported that the Israeli occupation forces killed at least 1,482 Palestinians since Israel unilaterally ruptured the Gaza ceasefire agreement and resumed its genocide on 18 March, bringing the total death toll since 7 October 2023 to 50,846.
Severe water crisis
The Gaza Municipality announced on Wednesday that the city is facing a severe water shortage after Israeli airstrikes east of the Shujaiya neighbourhood damaged the Mekorot water line, restricting water for the sixth consecutive day.
The Mekorot line provides about 70% of the water distributed to people in Gaza.
The municipality called on international bodies and humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently and grant access to the damaged site to restore the water supply as quickly as possible.
Additionally, the municipality reported that Israeli airstrikes destroyed 64 of Gaza’s 86 water wells during the bombardment.
Efforts are underway to operate the remaining 22 wells using solar power and backup generators.
The Palestinian health ministry warned that the lack of proper nutrition and clean drinking water is worsening public health conditions in the strip.
According to the ministry, 60,000 children in Gaza are at risk of serious health complications due to malnutrition, with Israel's over-month-long blockade of nutritional, medical, and humanitarian aid further exacerbating the crisis.
Efforts underway to restore ceasefire
On Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff discussed efforts by mediators Egypt, Qatar, and the US to restore the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
According to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement, during a phone call, the diplomats emphasized the necessity of these steps to de-escalate tensions and restore calm.
Abdelatty and Witkoff also explored ways to ensure the commencement of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
They further exchanged views on implementing the Arab-Islamic reconstruction plan for Gaza, prepared by Egypt, which includes provisions for the strip’s security and governance.
Arab and Islamic nations, the European Union (EU), Japan, France, and other international entities have endorsed the plan.
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