A Palestinian man carries the draped body of a child killed in Israeli strikes the previous day on the central Gaza Strip, outside the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital ahead of a burial ceremony for the victims in Deir al-Balah. AFP
The lethal air raids, which continued into Monday, constitute the most severe violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas since it came into effect on 11 October.
Waves of Israeli aircraft bombed several areas across the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Civil Defence Agency said. Among the locations hit by the air strikes were al-Zuwaida town in central Gaza, where six people were killed in a strike on a makeshift coffeehouse, and the Nuseirat refugee camp, where two separate strikes near the Al-Ahli soccer club killed a further two and wounded at least eight, according to staff at Awda hospital.
A drone strike near Asdaa City, north of Khan Younis, also killed a woman and two children who were sheltering in a tent for displaced persons. Further fatalities were reported in eastern Jabalia in the north and western Gaza City.
Hospital officials in Gaza confirmed a steep rise in casualties. The local health ministry reported that 57 bodies were brought to hospitals over the previous 24 hours, with 45 killed directly by Israeli fire.
Doctors at multiple hospitals, including Awda and Nasser in Khan Younis, received the dead and dozens of injured, including children, with emergency wards struggling to cope with the influx.
Since the ceasefire began on 11 October, the Palestinian casualty toll has climbed significantly, with the Gaza media office stating that 80 Palestinians have been killed and 303 others injured by Israeli military action up to Monday.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the onset of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 stands at over 68,216 killed, the majority women and children, with more than 170,361 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The Israeli military justified the bombardment as a response to what it claimed was a "blatant violation" of the truce by Hamas, saying that two of its soldiers were killed in combat in the southern city of Rafah.
In a strongly worded statement, a senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Risheq, denied the Palestinian resistance group's involvement in any attack and accused Israel of "fabricating flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes."
He insisted the group remained committed to the ceasefire, placing the blame entirely on Israel for the renewed violence. "It is the occupation that continues to violate the ceasefire and provide excuses for its crimes," al-Risheq said.
Short link: