DEIR AL-BALAH: Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians including several children on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the Ceasefire, a day after Israel accused Hamas of new truce violations.
The strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, said officials at hospitals that received the bodies. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. Another airstrike hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 and wounding others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Salmiya said.
The strikes came a day before the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city. All of the territory’s border crossings — the rest are with Israel — have been closed throughout almost the entire war. Palestinians see Rafah as a lifeline for tens of thousands needing treatment outside the territory, where the majority of medical infrastructure has been destroyed.
The crossing’s opening, limited at first, will occur as the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan moves into its second phase. Other challenging issues include demilitarizing the strip after nearly two decades of Hamas rule and installing a new government to oversee reconstruction. Egypt, one of the ceasefire mediators, in a statement condemned the Israeli strikes in the “strongest terms” and warned that they represent “a direct threat to the political course” of the truce. Qatar, another mediator, in a statement called Israel’s strikes a “dangerous escalation” and said continuing them poses a “direct threat” to the political process.
Nasser Hospital said the strike on the tent camp in Khan Younis caused a fire, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren.
Atallah Abu Hadayeed said he had just finished praying when the explosion struck. “We came running and found my cousins lying here and there, with fire raging. We don’t know if we’re at war or at peace, or what. Where is the truce? Where is the ceasefire they talked about?” he said, as people inspected ruins including a bloodied mattress.
Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City apartment building strike killed three children, their aunt and grandmother. “The three girls are gone, may God have mercy on them.”