Multiple Israeli airstrikes hit the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis overnight, killing more than 50 people in a second consecutive night of heavy bombing, international media report.
The Associated Press reported its cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes overnight and witnessed numerous bodies being taken to Nasser Hospital’s morgue, which confirmed 54 fatalities.
Among the dead was Hasan Samour, a journalist working for Qatari television network Al Araby TV, who was killed along with 11 family members in one of the strikes, according to the network.
The latest attacks follow Wednesday’s bombardment of northern and southern Gaza that killed at least 70 people, including nearly two dozen children.
The intensified bombing campaign comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to escalate military operations against Hamas, while U.S. President Donald Trump visits Gulf states on a four-day Middle East tour that does not include Israel.
An Israeli blockade of Gaza has now entered its third month. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading authority on hunger crises, reports that nearly half a million Palestinians face possible starvation while another million barely have enough food.
Israel has also issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City ahead of planned “intense strikes,” designating areas around the Islamic University, Al-Shifa Hospital, and three former schools as unsafe.
Israeli authorities claim these buildings are being used by Hamas as “command and control centres,” while local officials and aid agencies warn thousands of civilians are sheltering in these locations.
Human Rights Watch has condemned Israel’s plans in Gaza, calling on the international community to speak out against what it described as a strategy that “inches closer to extermination.”
The war began with Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw over 250 taken hostage. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s military campaign has killed over 52,000 people in Gaza.
Most of Gaza’s 2.1 million population has been displaced, many multiple times. An estimated 70% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, with healthcare, water and sanitation systems collapsing amid shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
Since the war began, independent verification of information from Gaza has been difficult as Israel has largely prevented journalists from entering the territory except on rare, military-escorted visits.
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