Gaza: On May 15, 2025, Israel’s military ramped up its assault across the Gaza Strip, unleashing one of the deadliest 48-hour periods since the start of the war. Strikes rained down on residential neighborhoods in Jabalia and Tel al-Zaatar, leaving dozens dead and survivors scrambling amid collapsing homes and clouds of smoke.
In the north of Gaza, Palestinian civil defence officials reported that at least 80 people were killed on May 14, including 59 in Jabalia alone, one of the most densely populated areas. On May 15, airstrikes continued to pound the region. Heart-wrenching images emerged of Palestinians fleeing on foot, moments after a missile struck the home of the Hmeid family...
Simultaneously, Tel al-Zaatar in Gaza City came under intense bombardment. Footage and photographs from Anadolu Agency showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing above residential blocks as Israeli forces escalated their campaign. These attacks, described by residents as “relentless,” have flattened homes, overwhelmed medical teams, and forced even more families to flee south.
Attacks on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis shows Safa Al-Bayouk, a grieving mother, lying on a hospital bed as she mourns her two children, Moath and Moataz, killed in an Israeli airstrike. The photograph, taken by Hatem Khaled for Reuters, has since circulated widely, becoming emblematic of Gaza’s rising civilian death toll.
In Jabalia, yet another scene of mourning played out on May 14, where 48 people, including 22 children, were killed in a single strike, according to local hospitals. Families gathered among rows of body bags, clutching photographs and the few belongings they could salvage.
On the Israeli side of the border, military convoys were seen advancing further into Gaza. Images captured by Reuters photographer Amir Cohen show armored vehicles moving through the rubble of what were once neighborhoods, underscoring the ground component of Israel’s offensive.
The intensification comes amid mounting global pressure and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis. Hospitals are beyond capacity, clean water is scarce, and more than a million Palestinians are internally displaced, many with no access to food, electricity, or shelter.
Despite growing international condemnation and calls for a ceasefire, Israel’s government has reiterated its stance that the operations are necessary to dismantle Hamas and secure its borders. But the human cost—particularly among women and children—has reignited urgent debates over proportionality, international law, and the moral limits of warfare.
As night fell over Gaza on May 15, residents braced for more air raids, digging through the ruins of destroyed homes with bare hands, hoping to find survivors—or at least say goodbye to the dead.
