Israeli strikes overnight in Gaza have killed at least 60 people, including many children, local hospital officials said Wednesday. The strikes come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to conduct “powerful strikes” over Gaza, saying Hamas had violated the fragile ceasefire.
The ceasefire, which began on October 10, has been fragile, with previous flare-ups, and the situation remains tense, with ongoing challenges to the truce. The Aqsa Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah said at least 10 bodies, among three women and six children, reached the hospital overnight after two Israeli airstrikes there.
In southern Gaza, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 20 bodies after five Israeli strikes in the area, of which 13 were children and two were women. Elsewhere in central Gaza, the Al-Awda Hospital said it received 30 bodies, of which 14 were children.
Netanyahu’s order came after an Israeli official reported that Hamas fired on Israeli forces in southern Gaza. Hamas has delayed handing over another hostage’s body in response to Israel’s planned strikes.
On Monday, the Palestinian militant group handed over body parts that Israel identified as the remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war, which Netanyahu called a violation of the fragile ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.