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| Israeli bombing wave kills dozens in Gaza including at least 22 children, say reports | Israeli bombing wave kills dozens in Gaza including at least 22 children, say reports |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Bombardment signals new escalation after Netanyahu said Israel would ‘go in with full force to complete the operation’ | Bombardment signals new escalation after Netanyahu said Israel would ‘go in with full force to complete the operation’ |
| An intense wave of Israeli bombing on Wednesday killed as many as 80 people in Gaza, including many children, signalling a new escalation of violence in the devastated Palestinian territory at a critical moment in regional politics. | An intense wave of Israeli bombing on Wednesday killed as many as 80 people in Gaza, including many children, signalling a new escalation of violence in the devastated Palestinian territory at a critical moment in regional politics. |
| The exact number of deaths from the attacks was unclear, but even the lower estimates made it one of the highest tolls in a single morning for many weeks. | The exact number of deaths from the attacks was unclear, but even the lower estimates made it one of the highest tolls in a single morning for many weeks. |
| Civil defence officials in Gaza said 80 had been killed, while medical officials said at least 50 people, including 22 children, were killed in strikes around the Jabaliya neighbourhood in northern Gaza alone, according to hospitals and health officials. | Civil defence officials in Gaza said 80 had been killed, while medical officials said at least 50 people, including 22 children, were killed in strikes around the Jabaliya neighbourhood in northern Gaza alone, according to hospitals and health officials. |
| Footage of mourners in the north of the territory showed weeping women kneeling next to bodies wrapped in bloodstained white shrouds. | Footage of mourners in the north of the territory showed weeping women kneeling next to bodies wrapped in bloodstained white shrouds. |
| Mohammed Salha, the director of al-Awda hospital in Jabaliya, said his staff had treated 52 injured casualties brought in overnight and during Wednesday morning, including a four-month-old infant with severe leg injuries. | Mohammed Salha, the director of al-Awda hospital in Jabaliya, said his staff had treated 52 injured casualties brought in overnight and during Wednesday morning, including a four-month-old infant with severe leg injuries. |
| “Even after 19 months, no one gets used to such sights … We are all exhausted,” Salha said. | “Even after 19 months, no one gets used to such sights … We are all exhausted,” Salha said. |
| The airstrikes were concentrated in the northern parts of Gaza, from where two rockets were launched at Israel on Tuesday. The Israeli military has issued fresh evacuation orders for the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas has been using schools and health facilities there. | The airstrikes were concentrated in the northern parts of Gaza, from where two rockets were launched at Israel on Tuesday. The Israeli military has issued fresh evacuation orders for the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas has been using schools and health facilities there. |
| The new attacks comes as the US president, Donald Trump, continues his Middle East visit and follows a brief pause in Israel’s continuing offensive to allow the release by Hamas of the 21-year-old Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, which briefly raised hopes for a new ceasefire. | The new attacks comes as the US president, Donald Trump, continues his Middle East visit and follows a brief pause in Israel’s continuing offensive to allow the release by Hamas of the 21-year-old Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, which briefly raised hopes for a new ceasefire. |
| Israel has threatened to launch a massive new offensive to “conquer” Gaza if Hamas does not release the 58 hostages it is still holding and make other concessions. | Israel has threatened to launch a massive new offensive to “conquer” Gaza if Hamas does not release the 58 hostages it is still holding and make other concessions. |
| The stop-start negotiations to end the war are continuing in the Qatari capital, Doha, which Trump was visiting on Wednesday. | The stop-start negotiations to end the war are continuing in the Qatari capital, Doha, which Trump was visiting on Wednesday. |
| Officials said Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minster, had held talks with the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been tasked by Trump with ending the war in Gaza, on “the issue of the hostages and the missing”. | Officials said Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minster, had held talks with the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been tasked by Trump with ending the war in Gaza, on “the issue of the hostages and the missing”. |
| Witkoff later said Trump had “a really productive conversation” with Qatar’s emir about a ceasefire deal in Gaza, adding that “we are moving along and we have a good plan together”. | Witkoff later said Trump had “a really productive conversation” with Qatar’s emir about a ceasefire deal in Gaza, adding that “we are moving along and we have a good plan together”. |
| Israel is under increasing pressure to end its total blockade of Gaza, which was imposed in early March. Earlier this week, UN-backed food security experts said the territory’s 2.3 million population was at critical risk of famine. | Israel is under increasing pressure to end its total blockade of Gaza, which was imposed in early March. Earlier this week, UN-backed food security experts said the territory’s 2.3 million population was at critical risk of famine. |
| On Wednesday, António Guterres, the UN secretary general, called for “unimpeded humanitarian access” to the Palestinian territory, while Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “ever more dramatic and unjustifiable”. Anita Anand, the new Canadian foreign minister, accused Israel of using food as a political tool. | On Wednesday, António Guterres, the UN secretary general, called for “unimpeded humanitarian access” to the Palestinian territory, while Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “ever more dramatic and unjustifiable”. Anita Anand, the new Canadian foreign minister, accused Israel of using food as a political tool. |
| Israeli officials have rejected the criticism, saying that Hamas routinely steals and sells aid to finance military and other operations, and arguing that the blockade was necessary to force Hamas to release the hostages it is still holding. They say Israel is working with the US on a new plan for distributing aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, involving a series of hubs in the south of Gaza that would be run by private contractors and protected by Israeli troops. | Israeli officials have rejected the criticism, saying that Hamas routinely steals and sells aid to finance military and other operations, and arguing that the blockade was necessary to force Hamas to release the hostages it is still holding. They say Israel is working with the US on a new plan for distributing aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, involving a series of hubs in the south of Gaza that would be run by private contractors and protected by Israeli troops. |
| Humanitarian officials have rejected the plan as unworkable, inadequate, dangerous and potentially unlawful. | Humanitarian officials have rejected the plan as unworkable, inadequate, dangerous and potentially unlawful. |
| Speaking in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, Trump said more hostages would follow Alexander, who had been in Hamas captivity since the group launched its surprise attack in October 2023, and added that the people of Gaza deserved a better future. | Speaking in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, Trump said more hostages would follow Alexander, who had been in Hamas captivity since the group launched its surprise attack in October 2023, and added that the people of Gaza deserved a better future. |
| Netanyahu credited Alexander’s release on Monday to a combination of “our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by President Trump”. This has been rejected by Hamas, which has said it engaged in direct talks with Washington on a ceasefire in Gaza. | Netanyahu credited Alexander’s release on Monday to a combination of “our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by President Trump”. This has been rejected by Hamas, which has said it engaged in direct talks with Washington on a ceasefire in Gaza. |
| Trump’s tour began in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. His next stop will be the United Arab Emirates. | Trump’s tour began in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. His next stop will be the United Arab Emirates. |
| Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swathes of Gaza, destroying health, sanitation and other infrastructure and displacing 90% of the population, often multiple times. | Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swathes of Gaza, destroying health, sanitation and other infrastructure and displacing 90% of the population, often multiple times. |
| Israeli media reported that one target in a strike on a hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday was Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October. The military would not comment beyond saying it had targeted a Hamas “command and control centre” which it said was located beneath the European hospital. | Israeli media reported that one target in a strike on a hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday was Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October. The military would not comment beyond saying it had targeted a Hamas “command and control centre” which it said was located beneath the European hospital. |
| Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be Hamas’s top military leader in Gaza. Israel has tried to assassinate him multiple times over the past decades. | Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be Hamas’s top military leader in Gaza. Israel has tried to assassinate him multiple times over the past decades. |
| Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director general of field hospitals at Gaza’s health ministry, said the strike had severely damaged the hospital’s water and sewage systems, as well as its courtyard. He added that the Israeli military hit a bulldozer brought in by hospital authorities to repair the area to allow ambulances to reach the building. | |
| Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 251. The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed at least 52,908 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the territory that is considered reliable by the UN. | Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 251. The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed at least 52,908 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the territory that is considered reliable by the UN. |