Early on Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers launched 100 simultaneous attacks across the Gaza Strip, effectively ending a fragile two-month truce with Hamas. At least 436 individuals have been killed since the attacks started, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including 183 children, 94 women, 34 elderly women and men, and 125 men. 678 others were injured, many of whom are in critical condition, with hundreds more trapped under rubble.
Al Jazeera’s SANAD fact-checking agency confirmed that 23 locations were subject to Israeli military assaults from early morning until around 2 PM local time. Strikes were carried out in various areas, such as Jabalia, Beit Hanoon, Gaza City, Nuseirat, Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah, and even planned safe zones, such as al-Mawasi, were targeted.
In one particularly horrific attack in western Gaza City, civilians, including one person with special needs, were ambushed while outside al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. Two schools that were serving as displaced families’ homes—al-Tabin School in Gaza City and Dar al-Fadhila School near Rafah—were bombed and resulted in the deaths of at least 25 individuals.
Gaza accounts describe a society that is “terrified, helpless, and devastated” by the assaults, along with the ongoing Israeli blockades and electricity cuts. Local journalist Hind Khoudary described the dire situation: “People are starving. They have no access to food, and the water desalination plant for 500,000 Palestinians is not functioning because of the power cuts.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the renewed onslaught was “just the beginning” and that the government will persist until Hamas is disarmed and hostages are released. Entire families have been wiped out, Nesreen’s family being the latest victims. Chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported that Nesreen and her children were killed when their home was bombed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
So far, the war has claimed the lives of at least 49,547 Palestinians and caused 112,719 injuries. The number is a stark reality: for every 50 people in Gaza, one has been killed, and one in every 20 has been wounded. With thousands underneath the debris, the Government Media Office has updated the death toll to over 61,700, marking a sad chapter in the region’s history.
