Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip claimed at least 27 lives on Saturday, local authorities report. Rescue teams note that children and women numbered among the casualties. In one incident, helicopter gunships targeted a tent housing displaced families in southern Khan Younis.
Residents describe these attacks as the most intense since the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, arranged by President Trump in October, took hold earlier this month. The Israeli military acknowledges conducting multiple strikes, citing a Hamas breach of the agreement the previous Friday. Both sides have traded accusations of truce violations since the deal activated last year.
Israeli Military Response
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) state that eight militants emerged from an underground network in eastern Rafah, where Israeli troops maintain a presence under the October pact. In coordination with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), forces targeted four commanders, additional militants, a weapons depot, a production facility, and two Hamas rocket launch pads in central Gaza.
Hamas Condemnation and Casualty Details
Hamas denounces the operations and calls on the United States to intervene promptly, arguing that these repeated infractions reveal Israel’s intent to perpetuate a genocidal campaign against Gaza. A Hamas spokesperson reports seven deaths from a single displaced family in Khan Younis, with strikes damaging homes, tents, shelters, and a police outpost.
At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, officials confirm an air strike on a residential building killed three children and two women. “We found my three little nieces in the street. They say ‘ceasefire’ and all. What did those children do? What did we do?” questioned Samer al-Atbash, uncle to the young victims.
Footage and photographs from various Gaza locations depict rescuers extracting bodies from debris and multiple structures reduced to ruins.
Conflict Background
The Israel-Hamas war ignited following a Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 251 abductions. Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza has led to over 71,660 Palestinian deaths, per the territory’s health ministry. Since the ceasefire’s start on October 10, 2025, at least 509 Palestinians have perished, alongside four Israeli soldiers.
While Israel challenges the health ministry’s data, a high-ranking security official concedes to local outlets that the Palestinian toll exceeds 70,000. The United Nations and human rights organizations consider these statistics credible and reference them extensively. Independent media access to Gaza remains barred by Israel.
These developments precede the scheduled reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Sunday, following the IDF’s recovery of the remains of Israel’s final hostage earlier in the week.
