At least 115 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday, as the Israeli military has intensified its strikes on the besieged territory amid President Trump’s visit to the region.
Health officials told Al Jazeera that at least 61 were killed in a barrage of overnight attacks on the southern city of Khan Younis. Heavy Israeli strikes were also reported in Jabalia, northern Gaza, for the second day.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least 15 Palestinians, including 11 children and one woman, were killed by the strikes on Jabalia. Photos and videos from Gaza on Thursday show many children among the casualties.
WAFA also reported that among those killed in Khan Younis was a journalist named Ahmad al-Helou. Based on a previous report from WAFA, al-Helou’s killing brings the total number of journalists killed by the IDF in Gaza to 213.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that the European Hospital in Khan Younis was out of service due to a recent Israeli attack, which targeted the outside of the facility with bunker-busting bombs. The Israeli military claimed it targeted an underground Hamas “command and control” center but provided no evidence, and an analysis from Sky News contradicted the claim.
“The attack caused significant damage to the infrastructure, including sewage lines, damage to internal departments, and destruction of roads leading to the hospital,” the Health Ministry wrote on Telegram.
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli attacks on Thursday also targeted the Al Awda hospital in Jabalia and the Indonesian Hospital in Khan Younis.
The latest violence in Gaza comes as Israel continues to maintain a total blockade on the Strip, blocking all goods from entering, which has been imposed since March 2. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that 57 children have starved to death since the blockade was imposed.
