Gaza Herald — At least 28 Palestinians have been killed and dozens more injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, marking yet another violation of the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since October 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. At least 77 people were wounded, some in critical condition.
The attacks came despite a truce meant to halt hostilities and allow Gaza’s civilians a reprieve from relentless bombardment. Israeli forces claimed that the strikes were in retaliation for gunfire targeting their troops in Rafah, southern Gaza. Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal confirmed that artillery shelling began in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, hitting a residential home and killing a young Palestinian. Another strike in Shujaiya targeted a civilian gathering, killing an additional person and injuring dozens.
In the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Israeli warplanes struck the headquarters of Gaza’s Endowments Ministry, killing five people, including a pregnant woman and a young girl. In southern Gaza, three Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in Khan Younis when Israeli aircraft targeted a group of civilians.
Eyewitnesses described chaos and panic as families fled the bombed neighborhoods, many still traumatized from previous waves of attacks. Hospitals, already overwhelmed from years of war and the recent two-year genocide, struggled to cope with the influx of critically injured patients. Medical staff warned that the limited resources available in Gaza, compounded by the blockade and the destruction of infrastructure, are placing civilians’ lives at severe risk.
According to Anadolu correspondents, the areas targeted by Israeli strikes were previously vacated under the terms of the ceasefire, raising serious questions about the commitment of Israeli forces to uphold the agreement. Since October 2023, Israel’s military operations in Gaza have killed nearly 70,000 people, primarily women and children, injured over 170,000, and left the enclave’s infrastructure in ruins.
Analysts warn that these ongoing violations of the ceasefire are part of a broader strategy of intimidation and collective punishment against Gaza’s civilian population. As the international community remains largely silent, Palestinians continue to face a humanitarian catastrophe, struggling to survive under bombardment, blockade, and the systematic destruction of their homes, schools, and hospitals.
“The ceasefire on paper offers no protection on the ground,” said one Gaza resident. “We live every day under the threat of airstrikes, with no safety, no justice, and no hope that the world will intervene to stop the killing.”
The latest attacks underscore the fragility of agreements brokered without enforcement mechanisms and highlight the urgent need for international action to protect civilians and hold Israel accountable for ongoing violations of international law.
