Israeli Strikes Across Gaza Kill Over 100, Including Women and Children

GAZA CITY – Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 103 Palestinians overnight and into Sunday, with women and children among the dead, according to local health officials. The latest escalation comes as Israel intensifies its military campaign, launching a new offensive named “Gideon’s Chariots” after more than 19 months of ongoing conflict.

Hospitals and emergency workers reported that more than 48 people were killed in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, where several strikes hit houses and tents sheltering displaced families. Nasser Hospital confirmed that among the dead were 18 children and 13 women. In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp killed nine members of a single family, while another strike in the same area killed 10 people, including seven children and a woman, according to civil defense officials.

The bloodshed has forced the main hospital in northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, to shut down after intense fighting and what hospital officials described as an Israeli military siege. The closure leaves the war-torn north without a major medical facility, following the earlier shutdowns of Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals due to previous strikes.

The Israeli military has not issued immediate comment on the overnight attacks. Israel maintains that civilian casualties are the result of Hamas operating within civilian areas. The ongoing bombardment comes as Israel seeks to seize territory, displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza’s south, and exert greater control over the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Since the war began in October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them women and children, as a result of Israel’s retaliatory offensive. The conflict was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of 251 others.

As the offensive continues, ceasefire talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have so far failed to yield results, with both sides holding firm to their positions4. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with hospitals overwhelmed, displacement camps targeted, and international organizations warning of catastrophic conditions for civilians caught in the crossfire.