Gaza: At least 10 Palestinians, including several women and children, were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to health officials in the region. The strikes hit multiple locations, including family tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, further escalating the already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Two of the attacks struck tents in Khan Younis, each reportedly killing two children along with their parents. A separate strike killed a child and a man who was riding a bicycle, Nasser Hospital confirmed, as it received the bodies from all three incidents. These casualties add to the rising toll of civilian deaths as the conflict drags into its seventh month.
The Israeli military has not yet issued a comment on the latest strikes. In previous statements, Israel has maintained that it does not deliberately target civilians and blames Hamas for operating within densely populated residential areas, complicating military operations.
The ongoing blockade on Gaza has now lasted more than ten weeks, with Israel sealing off all imports of food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter materials. Officials describe the blockade as part of a pressure campaign to force Hamas to release hostages taken during the October 7 attacks.
Israel resumed its large-scale assault in March after a ceasefire collapsed—an agreement that had led to the release of more than 30 hostages. Now, with fighting intensifying again, aid agencies warn that Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian collapse.
Speaking on BBC's Good Morning Scotland, Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s humanitarian lead for Gaza, said the crisis has "reached an all-time low," citing widespread hunger and critical shortages of clean water, medical services, and shelter.
Since the start of the war, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 52,000 Palestinians—the majority of them women and children—have been killed. The Israeli offensive has devastated infrastructure across the territory and displaced roughly 90% of Gaza’s two million residents.
The conflict escalated dramatically on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise assault on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel responded with a full-scale military campaign targeting Hamas, but rights groups and international observers have warned about the heavy civilian toll.
Currently, 59 hostages remain inside Gaza, with Israeli officials estimating that a third may still be alive.
Meanwhile, criticism from within Israel has emerged. Moshe Yaalon, a former Chief of Staff of the Israeli military, has spoken out strongly against the ongoing operations in Gaza. He accused Israel of "sending soldiers to commit war crimes" and claimed the military campaign amounts to "ethnic cleansing."
His remarks echo growing concerns from international human rights groups and some former military leaders that Israel’s current strategy may be violating international law and fueling long-term instability in the region.
As calls for a new ceasefire grow louder and the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, the fate of civilians trapped in Gaza remains uncertain—caught in the middle of a war with no clear end in sight.
