A wave of Israeli airstrikes overnight in northern Gaza has left at least 48 Palestinians dead, according to the Indonesian hospital in the area.
The casualties reportedly include 22 children and 15 women, after residential areas in Jabalia town and the nearby refugee camp were struck. Graphic video footage circulating online shows numerous bodies laid out on the ground.
The Israeli military said it is reviewing the reports. Prior to the strikes, it had issued evacuation warnings to residents of Jabalia and surrounding areas following rocket fire into Israel by a Palestinian armed group.
This latest escalation coincided with a stark warning from the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, who told the Security Council that urgent action is needed to prevent what he described as a looming genocide in Gaza. He accused Israel of deliberately inflicting inhumane conditions on civilians and urged the lifting of the 10-week blockade on the territory. Fletcher also criticized a joint Israeli-US initiative to control the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Responding to the UN criticism, Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon argued that foreign aid is being exploited by Hamas to sustain its military campaign.
In parallel diplomatic efforts, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler announced plans to visit Qatar for renewed talks on a possible ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, a separate Israeli strike on the European Hospital compound killed at least 28 people, according to local sources. The intended target was reportedly Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas figure believed to have taken command in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israel last October. The military described the strike as a “precise” operation against a Hamas command center hidden beneath the hospital.
Israel’s ongoing military offensive is in retaliation for Hamas’s deadly incursion on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 kidnapped. Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports a death toll surpassing 52,900.
