Israel’s renewed airstrikes on Gaza killed 33 people in 12 hours, marking the deadliest escalation since the ceasefire. The violence raises fears of broader conflict.
At least 33 people were killed in the most lethal Israeli attacks on Gaza since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10.
Two airstrikes on Khan Yunis early Thursday morning claimed five lives, according to hospital officials, adding to the death toll from hours of bombardment across the enclave.
The escalation follows Israeli claims that its soldiers came under fire in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, though the incident caused no casualties.
Four Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced families in Khan Yunis late Wednesday and early Thursday, killing 17 people, including five women and five children, according to medical staff at Nasser Hospital.
In Gaza City, 16 others — among them seven minors and three women — were killed when two airstrikes hit a residential building, hospital officials at Al-Shifa reported.
Hamas condemned the Israeli attacks as a “shocking massacre,” denying that its fighters had fired on Israeli troops. At Nasser Hospital, dozens gathered for funeral prayers over rows of bodies wrapped in white shrouds.
Among the mourners was Abir Abu Moustapha, who lost her three children — aged one, eleven and twelve — and her husband when an Israeli strike hit their tent Wednesday night. Kneeling beside their bodies, she said: “My children are gone… What was their fault? Why did they have to die in front of my eyes?”
Hospital officials said the victims came from both sides of a demarcation line established under last month’s ceasefire, dividing the besieged enclave into two sections: a border-adjacent zone under full Israeli military control, and a secondary zone designated as a humanitarian safety area.
The latest escalation came shortly after the UN Security Council endorsed the plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump for securing and governing Gaza.
The proposal authorizes an international security force, outlines a transitional governing authority, and envisions a future pathway toward a potential independent state for Palestine.
Despite a significant reduction in attacks since the ceasefire, Israeli strikes have not ceased entirely. The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 300 deaths since the truce began — an average of more than seven per day.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-led administration, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but its casualty records are widely considered reliable by the UN and independent analysts.
More than 69,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its large-scale ground and aerial offensive more than two years ago, following the Hamas-led assault that killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken hostage.
The recent strikes in Gaza coincided with Israeli air operations in southern Lebanon targeting what the army described as Hezbollah facilities, including weapons storage sites.
On Tuesday, a separate Israeli airstrike killed 13 people at the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp — the deadliest attack in Lebanon since the ceasefire there took effect last year.
Israel has recovered the remains of 25 hostages since the ceasefire took effect, and three more remain to be retrieved. Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on October 13.
Israel claims that Hezbollah has been working to reestablish its operational capabilities in southern Lebanon, though it did not provide evidence.
The military said Hezbollah’s weapons depots were embedded among civilian populations, violating the ceasefire arrangements between Israel and Lebanon. Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon last year under the agreement, while Beirut committed to curbing Hezbollah’s activities in the area.
Earlier Wednesday, an Israeli drone strike on a car in Tiri, a town in southern Lebanon, killed one person and injured 11 others, including schoolchildren who were passing by in a bus, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state media.
The ongoing violence has deepened regional instability and heightened concerns that the fragile ceasefire framework may collapse.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain catastrophic, with limited aid entering the enclave and widespread displacement continuing despite the formal truce.
Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the agreement’s terms, including commitments on aid expansion and the return of hostages, whether alive or dead.
As tensions rise, international observers warn that the resumption of intensive Israeli strikes — combined with new fronts emerging in Lebanon — could undermine diplomatic efforts to restore calm.
