Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in northern Gaza overnight, health officials say

By Aaron Boxerman and Abu Bakr Bashir

Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, Palestinian health officials said Wednesday, as Israel threatens to ramp up its military campaign in the enclave despite mounting international pressure.

The bodies of more than 50 people killed overnight had arrived at the Indonesian Hospital by noon Wednesday, according to Marwan Sultan, director of the medical facility in the town of Beit Lahia. He said children were among the dead and that dozens more people had been injured.

Gaza’s Health Ministry also said about 70 people had been killed Wednesday, without specifying where. Gaza health officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians when reporting death tolls.

Israel has been threatening a massive escalation across Gaza in an attempt to force Hamas to surrender and release the remaining hostages it has held for more than 18 months. The plan, as described by Israeli leaders, would displace many Palestinians in Gaza who, in some cases, have been forced from their homes or temporary shelters several times since the start of the war.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said in a statement that its forces had struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in northern Gaza, adding that it had sought to mitigate harm to civilians. An Israeli military spokesperson warned Palestinians in parts of the enclave’s north to flee in the face of an impending attack after rockets were fired at Israeli territory.

Odai Daama, 23, from Jabalia — within the evacuation zone — said he had not seen the Israeli announcement because he did not have an internet connection. Around midnight, the strikes began, “hitting houses around us,” he said.

Later that afternoon, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza City, warning of impending Israeli attacks. The military also published a graphic that appeared to threaten the Shifa Hospital, saying Hamas was using it for “terrorist activity.” Hospital officials later said Israel informed them they did not need to leave for now.

Montaser Bahja, a teacher sheltering in an apartment just south of the evacuation zone, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his neighborhood might be spared — at least for now. Like many Palestinians, he has been displaced multiple times during the war. His home in the northern city of Jabalia, he said, is a heap of rubble.

“We can’t flee again. We just can’t. We’ve fled from house to house and now we’re here. It’s enough,” Bahja said. “We can only hope that our neighborhood stays safe.”

The Trump administration has been seeking to broker an end to the 18-month war, which Palestinian health officials say has killed more than 50,000 people and brought the enclave to the brink of starvation.

After Israel ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas in March, Israeli forces resumed bombarding Gaza. Ground forces have also advanced deeper into the enclave, recapturing areas they had withdrawn from during the ceasefire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has more recently threatened an “intensive” escalation in Gaza unless Hamas lays down its weapons and turns over the hostages it still holds. The Israeli military has called up thousands of additional soldiers to bolster the war effort, and the government has vowed to seize additional territory there until Hamas complies.

The leaders of Hamas have refused to disarm and have said they will not free the remaining hostages unless Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza.

On Tuesday night, Israeli fighter jets bombarded the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis in an effort to kill Mohammed Sinwar, one of the group’s top remaining military commanders. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas complex underneath the European Hospital near Khan Younis.

Neither Israel nor Hamas have publicly commented on whether Sinwar was killed in the bombardment.

Israeli officials said they hoped eliminating Sinwar, one of Hamas’ most intransigent negotiators, would make the group more flexible on the demands for a truce. But Israel has assassinated numerous Hamas leaders since the beginning of the war, without compelling the group to accept its terms.

Sinwar’s older brother, Yahya Sinwar, led Hamas in Gaza and was one of the main planners of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that ignited the war. After Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces last year, Mohammed Sinwar assumed a more prominent role in the group.