22 Killed In New Israeli Airstrikes Across Gaza
At least 22 people were killed on Wednesday in fresh Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported, as Israel said it was targeting Hamas militants following what it described as a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.
According to the civil defence authority, which operates under Hamas, 12 people died in Gaza City in the north, while 10 others were killed in Khan Yunis in the south.
The Israeli military said Hamas fighters opened fire toward Israeli troops operating in southern Gaza, which it claimed violated the ceasefire agreement.
“In response, the IDF began striking Hamas terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip,” the military said, adding that no Israeli soldiers were injured.
Despite intermittent clashes, the delicate truce that began on October 10 has largely remained in place. Yet Israel has continued to conduct targeted strikes, which have killed over 280 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Wednesday’s death toll is among the highest in Gaza since the ceasefire began, surpassed only by the October 29 strikes that killed more than 100 people.
The ceasefire is part of a US-mediated agreement that includes the return of the last 48 Israeli hostages—both living and deceased. While only three bodies remain in Gaza, the second phase of the peace plan—focused on disarming Hamas, forming a transitional authority, and deploying an international force—remains unresolved.
The war began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault, which killed 1,221 people in Israel. Israel’s military response has since claimed the lives of at least 69,513 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the UN cites as credible.
Strikes in Lebanon
Israel also launched multiple strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting what it described as Hezbollah weapons-storage sites in several towns. The IDF accused the Iranian-backed group of rebuilding its military capacity.
Although a ceasefire reached last November aimed to halt over a year of clashes with Hezbollah, Israeli airstrikes have continued. The latest attacks came just a day after 13 people were killed in what Israel said was a strike on Hamas members in a Palestinian refugee camp—the deadliest in Lebanon since the truce took effect.
Tensions With Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials visited troops stationed inside the Syrian buffer zone on Wednesday. Netanyahu said their presence was crucial for Israel’s security.
Damascus condemned the visit as a “serious violation” of Syrian sovereignty and reiterated its demand that Israel withdraw from the territory.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
