Israeli strikes kill 24 in Gaza in one of deadliest days since ceasefire

A fragile calm shattered once more over the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as Israeli attacks killed at least 24 Palestinians in what medical officials described as one of the bloodiest days since an October “ceasefire” came into force.

Hospitals and morgues bore grim witness to the violence. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that several children were among the dead, including an 11-year-old girl, as shells and air strikes tore through densely populated neighbourhoods and makeshift camps for the displaced.

In Gaza City, Israeli shelling killed at least 14 people in the Tuffah and Zeitoun areas, levelling homes and striking without warning, according to local reporters. Further south, four people were killed when an attack hit tents sheltering displaced families in Qizan Abu Rashwan, near Khan Younis. Two more died in air strikes on the al-Mawasi coastal tent camp, where the Palestine Red Crescent Society said one of the victims was first responder Hussein Hasan Hussein al-Sumairy.

According to Al Jazeera, residential buildings in Gaza City were “squarely targeted”, deepening a sense of fear and exhaustion among civilians already battered by months of war.

Israel’s military said its armoured units and aircraft carried out attacks in northern Gaza after a reserve officer was severely wounded during what it called “routine operational activity” near the so-called “yellow line” marking areas under Israeli control.

Since the ceasefire began nearly four months ago, more than 520 Palestinians have been killed, according to local authorities. On Wednesday alone, Gaza’s ministry of health said Israeli authorities handed over the bodies of 54 Palestinians, along with 66 boxes containing what it described as “human remains and organs”. The remains were transferred via the Red Cross and will be examined by medical teams before being returned to families.

Overall, at least 71,803 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, 2023. Human rights groups and a United Nations inquiry have described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocidal, with a related case currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Amid the renewed violence, confusion and despair also surrounded medical evacuations through the Rafah crossing. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel initially cancelled the departure of a third group of Palestinian patients on Wednesday, before later allowing the evacuation to proceed following renewed coordination. Israeli authorities blamed procedural issues, while Gaza officials said more than 18,000 patients — including hundreds of critical cases — are still waiting for permission to leave for treatment.

Restrictions remain severe. Only a handful of Palestinians have been allowed to cross each day, far below earlier promises, and those permitted to travel or return have described harrowing treatment, including blindfolding, handcuffing and interrogation.

The violence has not been confined to Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a 24-year-old Palestinian man during a raid in Jericho, while several others were wounded in shootings, beatings and a vehicle strike, according to Palestinian officials.

As night fell over Gaza, the sound of drones lingered in the sky — an ominous reminder that even amid talk of ceasefires, the war’s shadow has yet to lift.