More than 90 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes in 48 hours, says Gaza health ministry
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Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 90 people in the past 48 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory has said.
Women and children were among 15 people who were killed overnight on Friday in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.
At least 11 of those who were killed were sheltering in a tent in the designated humanitarian zone of al Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living, the hospital workers said.
A further four people were killed in separate strikes on the city of Rafah, including a mother and her daughter, according to Gaza’s European Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
Israel – which has not commented publicly on the latest strikes – has vowed to intensify attacks across Gaza and occupy large “security zones” inside the area.
It says this is to put pressure on Hamas to release more hostages and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory.
For weeks, Israeli troops have also blockaded Gaza, barring the entry of food and other goods.
Last month, 15 aid workers were killed and buried in a shallow grave after being fired upon by Israeli troops.
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Sky reveals timeline of IDF’s Gaza aid attack
Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The group says it will only return them in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.
Hamas’s armed wing said the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after a guard who was holding him was found killed.
On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with a group of militants holding Mr Alexander in Gaza.
Earlier this week, the United Nations warned that almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people is relying on the one million prepared meals produced daily by charity kitchens.
Read more:
How Israel’s deadly attack on aid workers unfolded
Hundreds of names removed from official Gaza war death list
People at a hospital in Khan Younis mourn the deaths of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes earlier this week. Pic: Reuters
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house. Pic: Reuters
The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets, but rising prices make them unaffordable for most, according to the World Food Programme. The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, called it Gaza’s “worst humanitarian crisis” since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023.
Dr Hanan Balkhy, head of the World Health Organisation’s eastern Mediterranean office, urged the new US ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, to push Israel to lift Gaza’s blockade so medicines and other aid can enter the strip.
“I would wish for him to go in and see the situation first hand,” she said on Friday.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee places a handwritten note in Jerusalem. Pic: Reuters
In his first appearance as ambassador, Mr Huckabee visited the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Huckabee said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages.
Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251.
Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
