Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 people on Thursday, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as fighting intensified amid faltering ceasefire efforts.
In northern Gaza’s Jabalia, a strike on a police station killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more, local medics said. The Israeli military said the site was used by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group as a command and control centre.
As reported by Reuters, a mother and her two children were among the seven killed in separate airstrikes on the southern city of Khan Younis.
Further attacks in central Gaza killed six people, including two women and two children, while an airstrike in Gaza City killed four children and their parents, the ministry reported.
The renewed violence comes more than a month after Israel ended a temporary ceasefire and resumed air and ground operations in Gaza.
Since early March, Israel has blocked food and other imports into the enclave in a bid to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages. This has led to widespread condemnation from world leaders.
According to Hamas, 59 captives remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The group has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a lasting ceasefire, and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for their release.
Israel has rejected those terms and reiterated its intent to dismantle Hamas.
Since 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, Israeli forces have pressed forward with military operations that have, according to Gaza health officials, killed over 51,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children.
Ceasefire negotiations led by Egypt and Qatar with US backing remain deadlocked. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate as displacement and civilian casualties mount.
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