Israeli air strikes on Gaza kill at least 51 over 24 hours

More than 75 others were injured, the enclave's health authorities say

Palestinian Bilal Kallab holds the body of his 17-day-old baby, Adnan, who was killed during an Israeli air strike on Gaza city on Wednesday. AFP

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At least 51 Palestinians were killed in a wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza over the past 24 hours, as the war rages on despite reports of progress in long-running talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. The enclave's Health Ministry said 78 people were injured in the attacks.

At least 28 people were killed in two separate strikes on northern Gaza on Wednesday, medical sources said. Four were killed when Israeli forces bombed a school housing displaced people in Jabalia Al Balad. Many areas in the north have been under Israeli siege since early October.

A child died of wounds sustained when a tent was hit in Al Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, where thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in encampments along the coast. Rescuers recovered a body and several injured people after a strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza city, while four others are still missing under the rubble. An infant was killed in a strike on a house in Gaza city.

In southern Gaza, an Israeli drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis late on Tuesday, killing five children. Two people were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Al Manara neighbourhood in the east of the city, while three others, including two children, were killed in a separate strike on a house. Seven people were killed in an attack on a house in Qizan Rashwan, in southern Khan Younis.

In recent months, the Israeli military has focused its offensive on northern districts of Gaza, particularly the town of Jabalia and its adjacent refugee camp. Israel's army chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi visited troops on Monday. “We won't stop. We will bring them [Hamas] to the point where they understand that they must return all hostages,” he said, according to a statement released by the military. “They see, every single day, what you are doing to them and they understand that this is becoming unbearable."

The barrage of air strikes came as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US continued to broker negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha on a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing an estimated 1,200 people and abducting about 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the death toll.

In the occupied West Bank, three people were killed, including two children, in an Israeli drone attack in the town of Tamoun on Wednesday, the Wafa news agency reported, adding that Israeli forces were holding the bodies.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said an 18-year-old was killed overnight in an Israeli air strike in Tamoun, while a 40-year-old was shot dead in the nearby village of Taluza. The Israeli military said that, after fighting with militants in the Tamoun area, its planes struck and killed two fighters. Wafa also reported a second Palestinian killed in a strike in Tamoun.

The increase in violence in the occupied West Bank comes after the killing of three Israelis near a settlement.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified amid the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with killings by Palestinian militants, increased Israeli military raids and air strikes, and a rise in attacks by settlers.