Israeli strikes kill over 100 in Gaza
The news: Israeli strikes across the Gaza strip killed at least 103 people over Saturday night and Sunday, according to hospitals and medics in the disputed territory.
The numbers: Local health authorities said that 48 people were killed in airstrikes in and around Khan Younis in the southern end of the Gaza strip. A strike on a home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza reportedly killed nine members of the same family, while another strike on a family home killed 10 people.
The context: Israel ended a six-week ceasefire in March with the resumption of attacks on Gaza and on Saturday launched a major operation named “Gideon’s Chariots” in the strip to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 58 hostages, seize territory and take greater control of aid distribution. Israel has imposed a blockade on the region since mid-March, halting all imports including food, medicine and food into Gaza.
Israel said that the new operation is designed to increase pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire. Israel had previously said it would wait until Trump’s Middle East tour concluded before launching the offensive. The US President did not visit the country during his trip.
Mediators from Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, began a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas on Saturday.
On Sunday morning Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had fired two ballistic missiles toward Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Last month a Houthi missile struck the airport’s grounds, forcing the airport to briefly ground flights and prompting retaliatory strikes by Israel.
The news comes as Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz told MPs that the brother of late Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, was likely killed in an attack in the Gaza Strip a few days ago. While the IDF has not yet confirmed the death of Sinwar, who has lead the rebel Hamas group since his brother’s death in October, his body was reportedly found in a tunnel network targeted by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis last week.
The sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal
