At least 60 people, including 22 children, were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza overnight between Tuesday and early Wednesday, according to medical officials at local hospitals in the Strip.
Israel declined to comment on the attacks but said it had issued evacuation warnings to Jabaliya late Tuesday night, citing the presence of Hamas infrastructure such as rocket launchers.
The strikes came a day after the release of an Israeli-American hostage in a deal brokered between Hamas and the US. The release was part of efforts to re-establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid.
However, on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF would continue operations in Gaza “with full force” in the coming days. He warned there was “no way” Israel would halt its war on Hamas in the Strip, even if a deal is reached with Hamas to release more hostages.
The Israeli military was only days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission (of) destroying Hamas," Netanyahu said.
The Israel-Hamas war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 57, of whom 22 are believed to be alive.
A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Israeli military says 856 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.
