Cliff Notes
- Death Toll Rises: At least 60 people were killed in overnight airstrikes across Gaza, with heavy bombing reported for a second consecutive night.
- Hospital Casualties: The strikes have overwhelmed local hospitals, including Nasser Hospital, where multiple bodies were taken in, and Al-Awda Hospital, which was also damaged.
- Continued Escalation: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to escalate military actions in Gaza, while the UN warns of a potential humanitarian catastrophe amid an ongoing aid blockade.
At least 60 killed in overnight airstrikes on Gaza, medics say
At least 60 people have been killed overnight in airstrikes on Gaza, Palestinians medics have said.
In a second consecutive night of heavy bombing, multiple strikes hit Gaza.
An Associated Press cameraman in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, counted 10 airstrikes overnight into Thursday.
They also saw numerous bodies being taken into the morgue at the Nasser Hospital. A number of body bags contained the remains of multiple people.
The Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza, was also damaged by airstrikes, the official group of the hospital said.
The updated figure comes after the hospital’s morgue this morning said 54 people had been killed. A journalist working for a Qatari television network is among them. In a post on social media, Al Araby TV said Hasan Samour had been killed along with 11 members of his family.
The Israeli military has not commented on the strikes.
The bombings came as Donald Trump was on a visit to the Middle East, which includes stops in numerous countries but not Israel.
There had been hopes Mr Trump’s trip could usher in a ceasefire deal or a renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in the Gaza Strip, to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.
But international group Human Rights Watch said Israel’s stated plan to seize Gaza and displace hundreds of thousands more people “inches closer to extermination”.
On Wednesday, airstrikes on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including at least 22 children, a local hospital said.