At Least 33 Killed in Israeli Air Strikes on Gaza as Military Offensive Expands

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A series of intensified Israeli air strikes on Sunday claimed the lives of at least 33 people in Gaza, more than half of whom were children, according to the territory’s civil defence agency. The strikes come as Israel expands its military operations across the besieged enclave in pursuit of its stated war objectives, including the defeat of Hamas and the return of hostages.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal reported that 22 people were killed and over 100 injured in a pre-dawn strike targeting tents housing displaced families in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian zone along Gaza’s southern coast. Footage from the scene showed survivors digging through rubble and rescuers assisting the wounded.

At Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, families mourned over victims wrapped in white burial shrouds. In the north, seven people were killed in a strike on a home in Jabalia. The nearby Al-Awda hospital also sustained damage. Additional casualties were reported in Al-Zawayda and southern Khan Yunis.

Bassal described the air raids as a "series of violent Israeli air strikes," adding that “at least 33 martyrs” had been confirmed, with children making up more than half of the death toll. The Israeli military has yet to respond to these claims.

Global Outcry Grows

The surge in violence has triggered fresh international condemnation. Speaking at an Arab League summit in Baghdad, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm over the escalation and repeated calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The summit ended with a unified appeal for international pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign. Italy urged a swift end to the strikes, while Germany voiced concern. European Council President António Costa said he was "shocked by the news from Gaza."

Since March 2, when Israel tightened its blockade on aid entering Gaza, the humanitarian crisis has worsened. Aid agencies warn of critical shortages in food, medicine, and fuel, raising fears of an even greater civilian toll.

Renewed Fighting and Domestic Tensions

The Israeli offensive resumed on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire ended without a lasting deal. Violence has since intensified, and frustration is mounting inside Israel as well.

On Saturday, protests erupted in Tel Aviv against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Demonstrators demanded an agreement to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza. Zahiro Shahar Mor, whose uncle Avraham Munder was killed in captivity, said, “Instead of bringing them home with the deal that’s on the table, Netanyahu is dragging us into a needless political war.”

Of the 251 people kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military has confirmed that 34 of them are presumed dead.

As calls for a ceasefire grow louder, fears mount that continued hostilities will deepen the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population and further destabilize the region.