DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza City — Overnight airstrikes conducted by Israeli forces in the Gaza region claimed the lives of at least 23 Palestinian residents, including a family of five living in a tent in Gaza City, as reported by health officials. Three of the deceased were children. The strikes persisted amidst growing international criticism of Israel’s strategy to manage aid distribution amidst a blockade affecting over two million inhabitants in the region, now entering its third month.
The United Nations and various humanitarian organizations have expressed opposition to Israel’s approach to managing aid in Gaza. These grievances include a disapproval of a plan proposed by a group of American security experts, former military personnel, and humanitarian officials, grouped under the name the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Local health authorities disclosed that among the 23 victims brought into hospitals recently were the bodies of the family that suffered a fatal strike in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. Concurrently, another airstrike occurred late Friday, targeting a warehouse operated by UNRWA, the U.N. agency assigned to aid Palestinian refugees, in the northern Jabaliya area. Consequently, four individuals lost their lives as their bodies were retrieved and rushed to an Indonesian Hospital.
Video footage showed fires blazing in the remnants of the building. Eyewitnesses, such as Hamza Mohamed, explained that this warehouse had been left vacant due to ongoing raids and attacks during Israel’s ground operations targeting Hamas combatants over the past year.
Regarding military actions, Israel’s forces reported that nine soldiers sustained light injuries due to an explosive device detonation while conducting searches in the Shijaiyah area of Gaza City. These soldiers were transported to a hospital in Israel for treatment.
Israel recommenced its air offensive in the region on March 18, disrupting a ceasefire with Hamas that lasted approximately two months. Ground forces have since seized a significant portion of the territory, conducting raids and inspections in areas, including northern Gaza and the city of Rafah in the south, both of which have suffered extensive destruction resulting from Israeli military campaigns.
Amid the blockade, community kitchens are becoming one of the few surviving food sources within Gaza, yet numerous facilities have shuttered owing to depleted food supplies, according to aid organizations. These agencies predict further closures. Israel has maintained that the blockade is a tactic to compel Hamas leaders to surrender hostages and lay down their arms. However, rights advocacy groups have condemned the blockade, labeling it as a potential “starvation tactic” and possible war crime.
Israel has accused Hamas and other militant factions of diverting aid resources in the region but has yet to provide conclusive evidence supporting these claims. The United Nations has denied significant aid diversion incidents, highlighting ongoing monitoring of all distributions.
The ongoing 19-month conflict in Gaza is deemed the harshest military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, claiming more than 52,800 lives, predominantly among women and children, alongside injuries to over 119,000 individuals, according to counts by the Health Ministry, although these figures do not distinguish between civilians and military personnel. Israel claims to have neutralized thousands of combatants, without offering corroborating data.
Following an October 7, 2023, assault linked to Hamas on southern Israel resulting in approximately 1,200 fatalities, chiefly among civilians, and the kidnapping of over 250 individuals, Israel has pledged to dismantle Hamas. Presently, about 59 hostages remain in captivity, with approximately one-third presumed alive.
On Saturday, Hamas released a video showcasing hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, appearing visibly distressed. Both were captured during the October 7 attack at a music festival, an event recording over 300 fatalities. Hamas had previously circulated a video of the hostages around a month and a half ago and has released several others featuring Bohbot alone subsequently.
In Tel Aviv, protesters assembled on Saturday night to call for a ceasefire aimed at liberating all hostages. Michel Illouz, father of hostage Guy Illouz, addressed the crowd, expressing concern over a looming military operation by the Israeli government that potentially jeopardizes the hostages’ safety by significantly escalating military efforts in Gaza.