At least 33 people, including a significant number of children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, as Israel intensifies its military operations in the besieged territory.
The strikes come just a day after the Israeli military announced an expansion of its campaign aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the release of remaining hostages, heightening already growing international concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Speaking to reporters, Civil Defence spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal reported that 22 people were killed and over 100 injured in a pre-dawn strike on a cluster of tents sheltering displaced families in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza.
AFPTV footage captured scenes of devastation, with survivors sifting through debris and medics treating the wounded under chaotic conditions. At a nearby hospital in Khan Yunis, relatives were seen mourning over the bodies of their loved ones.
“The series of violent Israeli air strikes across Gaza overnight and into the morning resulted in at least 33 martyrs, more than half of whom were children,” Bassal said.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the latest round of casualties.
The expanded military campaign has sparked fresh international criticism.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at an Arab League summit in Baghdad, said he was “alarmed” by the escalation and demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
European Council President Antonio Costa expressed that he was “shocked” by the developments.
Since March 2, Israel has imposed a near-total blockade on aid deliveries into Gaza, leading to dire shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel.
Marwan Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, described the situation as “catastrophic.”
On Sunday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza accused Israel of besieging the hospital and disrupting emergency care, describing scenes of “panic and confusion.”
According to Gaza’s health ministry: At least 3,131 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18.
This brings the overall war death toll in Gaza to 53,272.
The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, in which 1,218 people were killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians.
The attack also resulted in 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza. Israel believes 34 of them are dead.
In Tel Aviv, protests erupted on Saturday, with demonstrators calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage deal.
“Instead of bringing them all home… Netanyahu is dragging us into a needless political war,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of slain hostage Avraham Munder.
Meanwhile, Qatar-hosted talks have resumed in Doha, with Hamas and Israeli negotiators participating, though no breakthrough has been reported. Netanyahu has ordered his delegation to remain in Doha.
However, far-right Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have opposed any potential deal, insisting that now is not the time to scale back operations.
