As many as 32 people, including more than a dozen women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to local health officials. The renewed violence comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet President Donald Trump to discuss the ongoing war and efforts to negotiate a potential ceasefire.
Israel reignited its military campaign last month after ending a temporary truce with Hamas, seizing key territory in a strategic bid to pressure the militant group into accepting a new ceasefire deal and releasing the remaining hostages. In addition, Israel has enforced a blockade on the coastal enclave for over a month, cutting off vital supplies of food, fuel, and humanitarian aid to a region already dependent on external assistance. Tensions escalated further late Sunday when the Israeli military ordered evacuations of several neighborhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah. The directive came shortly after approximately 10 projectiles were launched from Gaza.
The military said about five were intercepted. Hamas’ military arm claimed responsibility. Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon city and fragments fell in several other areas. The Magen David Adom emergency service said one man was lightly injured. The military later said it struck a rocket launcher in Gaza. Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The body of a toddler took up one end of an emergency stretcher. A female journalist was also among the dead.
