At least 28 people were killed on Saturday after Israeli air strikes hit multiple locations across the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency, amid growing strain on a fragile ceasefire.
Local officials said women and children were among the dead. One strike hit a tent housing displaced families in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while others struck residential areas in Gaza City and central parts of the enclave.
Palestinian residents described the attacks as the most intense since the second phase of the ceasefire agreement came into effect earlier this month. The truce was brokered in October by US President Donald Trump and was intended to reduce large scale fighting while negotiations continued.
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out a series of strikes on Saturday, saying the action followed what it described as a Hamas violation of the ceasefire on Friday. Both Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of breaching the agreement since it began.
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In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said eight fighters were identified exiting what it described as underground infrastructure in eastern Rafah, an area where Israeli forces remain deployed under the ceasefire terms.
The IDF said it carried out joint operations with the Israel Security Agency, targeting what it called four Hamas commanders, additional fighters, a weapons storage facility, a weapons manufacturing site, and two launch locations in central Gaza.
Hamas condemned the strikes and called on the United States to intervene, saying the attacks showed Israel was continuing what it described as systematic violations of the ceasefire. A Hamas statement said seven members of one displaced family were killed in Khan Younis alone.
Gaza’s civil defense spokesman said the strikes hit homes, tents for displaced people, shelters, and a police station.
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At Gaza City’s Shifa hospital, officials said an air strike destroyed a residential apartment, killing three children and two women.
Images and video from across Gaza showed rescue workers pulling bodies from rubble and widespread damage to buildings.
The strikes came a day before the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was set to reopen. The reopening follows Israel’s recovery of the body of the last Israeli hostage earlier this week.
Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes in a statement reported by AFP and urged all sides to show restraint to prevent further escalation.
While Israel has previously questioned the ministry’s figures, a senior Israeli security source cited by local media said the military accepts that more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict. The United Nations and major human rights organizations consider the health ministry’s data broadly reliable.
