* UN condemns attack: “Laws of war protecting civilians must be respected.”
* Hamas Responds: “We remain committed to the ceasefire agreement.”
* Global Outrage Grows: Civilian death toll rises amid renewed calls for accountability
At least 104 Palestinians were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes in Gaza on Tuesday night, the territory’s health ministry says.
The Israeli strikes hit homes, schools and residential blocks in Gaza City and Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza, Bureij and Nuseirat in the centre, and Khan Younis in the south.
Witnesses in Gaza City described seeing “pillars of fire and smoke” rising into the air as explosions shook several residential areas.
Gaza’s health ministry said a total of 104 people were killed, including 46 children and 20 women, and that more than 250 others were injured.
Three women and a man who were pulled from the rubble of the al-Banna family’s home in the southern Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency.
In the urban Bureij refugee camp, five members of the Abu Sharar family were killed in a strike on their home in the Block 7 area, it said.
At Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, women gathered to mourn over the bodies of a mother, Bayan al-Shawaf, and her four children who were killed in a strike on a tent at a camp for displaced families in the al-Mawasi area.
“What kind of world is this? Is this the ceasefire?” asked Bayan’s cousin, Umm Mohammed. “They [the children] were sleeping. They were wanting to learn.”
The Israeli military said it struck “dozens of terror targets and terrorists” in response to violations by Hamas of the US-brokered ceasefire deal.
Hamas denies involvement, holds Israel fully responsible
Hamas however denied any involvement in the attack. The resistance group held Israel fully responsible for Gaza escalation, though it reiterated its full commitment to the ceasefire agreement.
In a statement on Wednesday, the group stressed that it will not allow Israel to impose a “new reality” in Gaza under fire.
“Hamas affirms that the (Israeli) occupation bears the full responsibility for this dangerous escalation, along with its field and political consequences, and for attempting to sabotage (US President Donald) Trump’s plan and the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said.
It, however, reiterated its full commitment to the ceasefire deal and called on mediators and guarantors to assume their responsibilities and exert immediate pressure on Israel to stop its “massacres” against Palestinians.
UN chief ‘strongly condemns’ deadly strikes
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly” condemned recent Israeli air strikes across Palestine’s Gaza.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killings due to Israeli air strikes of civilians in Gaza yesterday, including many children,” his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference, adding that Guterres also “condemns all actions that undermine the ceasefire and endanger civilian lives.”
Noting the “importance of the parties and renewed assurances to implement the ceasefire,” the UN chief also stressed that the “commitments must be upheld in full.”
Killings in fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza ‘appalling’
UN rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks had hit schools, homes and tents for internally displaced people within the Palestinian territory.
“Reports that over 100 Palestinians were killed overnight in a wave of Israeli air strikes mainly on residential buildings, IDP tents and schools across Gaza, following the death of an Israeli soldier, are appalling,” he said in a statement.
“The laws of war are very clear on the paramount importance of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. It also outlines future reconstruction in Gaza and a new governing structure without Hamas.
More than 68,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 170,000 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian authorities.
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