Gaza Suffers Under Escalating “Israeli” Assault: Dozens Martyred, Entire Families Erased

By Staff, Agencies

At least 30 Palestinians were martyred across the Gaza Strip since dawn, as "Israel" continued its intensified bombardment of the besieged enclave, according to medical sources.

Explosions shook the ground throughout the night, from the northern parts of Gaza to southern Khan Younis, with airstrikes and drone attacks lighting up the skies.

In central Gaza, "Israeli" drones chased civilians from one area to another, causing the martyrdom of three Palestinians—two in the Daraj neighborhood and one south of Khan Younis.

Observers have likened the current wave of airstrikes to the early weeks of the war in terms of scale, intensity, and devastation. In central and western Khan Younis alone, 17 Palestinians were martyred, with entire families reportedly wiped off the civil registry.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, an overnight strike on a family tent in the Khan Younis refugee camp killed 11 people, including three infants under the age of one. Spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal confirmed that eight victims had been identified—all from the al-Baryam family, including two one-year-old children and a one-month-old baby.

Elsewhere, two displaced Palestinians were killed in separate strikes on their tents—one near a residential complex and another in the al-Mahatta area. In the Asdaa region of northern Gaza, a four-month-old baby named Hassan Abd Toman was killed in an attack on another tent for displaced families.

A pregnant woman, Nadine Abu Lahia, also lost her life in a drone strike targeting the Abu Hajiras family home in Khan Younis. The death toll from a previous strike on the Zarab family home in al-Batn al-Sameen has risen to four, with search operations ongoing.

In Rafah, rescuers retrieved a decomposing body from the coastline. In Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, emergency workers continued pulling bodies from the rubble following an "Israeli" strike that killed nine members of one family.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Media Office reported that a baby girl, Janan Saleh al-Sakafi, died of malnutrition and dehydration at al-Rantisi Hospital—one of at least 51 Palestinian children to die from starvation since "Israel" enforced a total blockade on March 2. The siege has halted the entry of humanitarian aid, including food, water, and medical supplies.

UNICEF has warned that 335,000 children under the age of five in Gaza are at risk of dying from acute malnutrition.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 70 Palestinians were martyred and 275 wounded in the past 48 hours. Rescue teams also recovered seven more bodies from under the rubble.

The Ministry further noted that since "Israel" broke the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18, 2,239 Palestinians have been martyred and 6,325 injured. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, "Israeli" forces have killed 52,945 Palestinians and injured 118,366, the majority of whom are women and children.