Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 103 people overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and doctors in the battered enclave said, as Israel intensifies its war in the territory that, after more than 19 months, shows no signs of abating.
More than 48 people were killed in air strikes in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, some of which hit houses and tents sheltering displaced people, according to Nasser Hospital. Among the dead were 18 children and 13 women, hospital spokesperson Weam Fares said.
In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp killed nine people from a single family, according to the Gaza health ministry’s emergency services. Another strike on a family’s residence, also in Jabaliya, killed 10, including seven children and a woman, according to the civil defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the overnight strikes.
The bloodshed comes as Israel ramps up its war in Gaza with a new offensive named “Gideon’s Chariots,” in which Israel says it plans to seize territory, displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza’s south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
Israel’s new offensive
Israel says the new plan is meant to ramp up pressure on Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire on Israel’s terms – one that would free Israeli hostages held in Gaza but wouldn’t necessarily end the war. Hamas says it wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a pathway to ending the war as part of any new ceasefire deal.
