Israeli airstrikes kill at least 40 across Gaza as broader offensive looms
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 40 people across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to civil defence officials in the Palestinian territory. The escalation comes as Israel’s government prepares to widen its military campaign.
Among the latest casualties, nine people were killed in a strike on a home in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. In the northern city of Beit Lahiya, a separate airstrike targeting a family residence claimed six lives. Six more were killed when a community kitchen in Gaza City was hit, and an overnight attack on the Khan Younis refugee camp killed at least 11 people, including three babies under one year old, officials said.
Responding to the airstrikes, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the military “takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” Israel resumed its bombing campaign on March 18, ending a short-lived ceasefire. Since then, the Gaza health ministry reports at least 2,326 deaths, bringing the overall death toll to 52,418 since the conflict began.
Israel continues to accuse Hamas of using civilians as human shields—allegations the group denies. It also claims Hamas diverts humanitarian aid for military use and profit.
The conflict was ignited by a Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians. Militants also took 251 hostages; 58 remain in Gaza, with the Israeli military stating that 34 of them are dead.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza have deteriorated sharply. Aid agencies warn of famine and system collapse. On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a stark alert, saying the humanitarian response was on the “verge of total collapse.”
“This situation must not – and cannot – be allowed to escalate further,” said Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s deputy director of operations.
Meanwhile, negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal have stalled. Reports in Israeli media suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may soon authorize a broader offensive. A new aid distribution plan, involving private contractors and a limited number of distribution hubs in Gaza’s south, is also under consideration.
However, humanitarian officials have raised concerns about the feasibility and ethics of the proposed aid plan.
“The current scheme just won’t work unless there are a lot more distribution hubs,” one senior aid official told Foxton News. “Even then, we cannot be a party to something that may drive massive and possibly permanent displacement within Gaza.”
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to press Israel for concessions on aid access during upcoming visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Last week, he urged Netanyahu to be “good to Gaza.” Analysts are divided on whether recent alerts to Israeli reservists are intended to pressure Hamas or signal imminent military escalation.
Israel’s military, strained after 18 months of warfare, is short an estimated 7,000 combat troops. Officials describe a “seven-front war” that could continue for another year.
On Saturday, air raid sirens sounded in Israel for a second consecutive day following a missile launch by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Israeli air defences intercepted the missile.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces in southern Syria have reportedly been deployed to protect the Druze minority. Though specifics on troop numbers or operations were not disclosed, Israel has conducted several strikes in the area following sectarian clashes near Damascus.
According to the military, five wounded Druze citizens were evacuated from Syria for medical treatment in Israel after sustaining injuries in clashes in Sahnaya, near Damascus. A Druze official in Sweida said the victims feared detention if sent to Syrian hospitals.
On Friday night, Israel launched more than 20 airstrikes in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A separate early morning strike near the presidential palace in Damascus drew sharp condemnation from Syrian authorities, who labeled it a “dangerous escalation.”
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned Thursday that Israel would act decisively if Syria’s new government failed to protect the Druze community.
Since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, Israel has intensified airstrikes and deployed troops into former demilitarized zones in the Golan Heights, seizing strategic ground once held by Syrian forces.
Analysts say Israel’s strategy is aimed at weakening the new Syrian administration while fostering ties with the Druze as potential allies. However, the policy is controversial; some officials argue that a stable Syria could better serve Israel’s long-term security interests.
Syria’s new government, dominated by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham—originally linked to al-Qaida—has promised inclusive governance but faces internal pressure from hardline factions.
