At least 60 people, including 22 children, were killed in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes, according to the Health Ministry

Over 60 Killed, Including 22 Children, in Deadly Israeli Airstrikes Across Gaza

A wave of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza has left at least 60 people dead, including 22 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The bombardment, which intensified overnight, has turned residential neighborhoods into scenes of devastation, with families trapped under rubble and hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of casualties.  

Among the victims was 8-year-old Aya Al-Masri, whose body was pulled from the ruins of her family’s apartment in northern Gaza. Relatives sobbed as rescue workers wrapped her small frame in a white shroud. “She was just playing with her dolls when the missile hit,” her uncle, Omar, told reporters, his voice breaking. “No child should die like this.”  

The strikes targeted multiple locations, including a busy marketplace in Gaza City and a residential block in Khan Younis. Footage from the scenes showed smoldering buildings, shattered glass, and bloodstained streets as paramedics rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals. Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, reported severe shortages of supplies and staff struggling to treat the flood of injured.  

“We’re operating without anesthesia, without enough bandages—it’s a nightmare,” said Dr. Fadi Abu Salah, an emergency room physician. “Children are arriving with horrific burns and missing limbs. We can’t keep up.”  

The Israeli military stated the attacks were in response to rocket fire from Palestinian militant groups, saying it struck Hamas weapons depots and command centers. However, survivors and local officials accused Israel of indiscriminate bombing. “There were no militants here, just families sleeping in their homes,” said Samira Hassan, a mother who lost three relatives in the strikes.  

The escalating violence has drawn international condemnation, with the UN calling for an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, funerals are being held across Gaza, where grief-stricken mourners carried tiny coffins through the streets, chanting for justice.  

As the death toll rises, fears grow of a wider humanitarian crisis, with Gaza’s already crippled infrastructure unable to cope with the devastation. For now, families bury their loved ones and brace for more bloodshed, trapped in a cycle of violence with no end in sight.