Israeli Airstrikes Kill 60 in Gaza, Including 22 Children

At least 60 people, including 22 children, were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza early Wednesday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and local hospital sources.

Nearly 50 of the casualties occurred in the densely populated Jabaliya area in northern Gaza, while 10 others were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis. The strikes came just a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage in a deal reportedly brokered by the United States, and during a high-profile visit by former U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia.

Rescue workers in Jabaliya searched through collapsed buildings with hand tools, using the light from mobile phones to recover the bodies of children trapped under concrete rubble.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the specific strikes but had issued evacuation warnings in Jabaliya the previous night, citing the presence of militant infrastructure, including rocket launchers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday that there was “no way” Israel would halt its military campaign in Gaza. In a statement, he declared that Israeli forces were “days away” from a major escalation and vowed to enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission,” which he described as the destruction of Hamas.

The war in Gaza began after a deadly incursion by Hamas-led militants into southern Israel in 2023, which left 1,200 Israelis dead. In response, Israel launched a prolonged military offensive that has since killed over 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths.

Israel’s campaign has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure and displaced around 90% of the population, many of them multiple times. International aid agencies warn that nearly half a million Palestinians face starvation, with one million more struggling to access sufficient food.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global authority on hunger crises, recently reported that Gaza is at risk of descending into full-scale famine unless the Israeli blockade is lifted and hostilities cease.

For the past 10 weeks, Israel has imposed a total ban on the entry of food, medicine, shelter materials, and other essentials into Gaza, compounding the humanitarian catastrophe.

French President Emmanuel Macron strongly criticised Israel’s continued blockade, calling it a “disgrace” and urging the reopening of border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.

“There’s no medicine. The wounded cannot be evacuated. Doctors cannot enter. What the Israeli government is doing is unacceptable,” Macron said in a televised statement. He called for an immediate resumption of aid convoys, the demilitarisation of Hamas, the release of hostages, and the pursuit of a political solution.

Macron, who recently visited wounded Palestinians at a hospital in El Arish, Egypt, warned that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening by the day.

Gaza, home to around 2.3 million people, relies almost entirely on external aid for survival. Much of its agricultural and industrial capacity has been destroyed by Israel’s ongoing 19-month military campaign.