At least 29 Palestinians, including six children, have been killed in fresh Israeli air strikes on Gaza, according to the territory’s civil defence agency. The renewed wave of attacks comes amid a deadlock in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resumed last week in Qatar.
Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal confirmed that Gaza City was struck multiple times overnight and into Sunday morning, leaving at least eight people dead, including women and children. Several others were wounded in the onslaught.
One of the deadliest attacks occurred near the Nuseirat refugee camp, just south of Gaza City, where an Israeli strike reportedly hit a family home. Bassal said the assault resulted in ten deaths and several injuries. In another incident in the same camp, an Israeli drone allegedly targeted a potable water distribution point set up for displaced persons. The strike killed eight, including six children, and left many others wounded.
In southern Gaza, three more people were reported killed when an airstrike struck a tent sheltering internally displaced Palestinians in the Al Mawasi coastal zone. The camp had been serving as a temporary refuge for families forced to flee their homes amid the prolonged conflict.
As of Sunday, the Israeli military had not issued a statement confirming or denying the reported strikes or casualties. However, the military did announce on Saturday that it had carried out over 35 airstrikes on what it described as Hamas “terror targets” in the Beit Hanun area of northern Gaza.
More than 21 months into the war, which began with Hamas’s deadly cross-border attack in October 2023, humanitarian conditions in Gaza have deteriorated drastically. Over two million people, nearly the entire population, have been displaced, many multiple times, as fighting escalates and basic infrastructure collapses.
The latest attacks underscore the growing urgency for a negotiated ceasefire, though indirect talks in Qatar appear to have made little progress. Observers say the impasse only prolongs the suffering of civilians caught in the middle.
Due to media restrictions and limited access within Gaza, independent verification of casualty figures and the full scope of the strikes remains challenging. Nonetheless, the growing toll adds to mounting international concern over the scale of destruction and loss of life in the embattled territory.
