Israel mounted deadly strikes in the north and south of Gaza on Wednesday that Hamas authorities said killed dozens of poeple and injured more than 80. The Israel military said it was targeting “Hamas terrorist targets” after its forces came under fire. File Photo by Omar Ishtiwi/UPI | License Photo
Authorities in Gaza said Thursday that Israeli strikes killed at least 33 Palestinians and injured more than 80 across the strip in the past day in one of the deadliest flare-ups since the U.S.-brokered cease-fire came into effect Oct. 10.
The enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry said in an update on social media that 12 children and eight women were among those killed, with 88 injured people being treated in various hospitals.
The ministry warned that the casualty figures could rise because there were “a number” of people buried beneath rubble and on roads where ambulance and civil defense crews had thus far been unable to reach them.
The two sides blamed each other for the violence.
The Israeli military said the strikes were directed against Hamas targets after fighters from the group opened fire on its forces in the south of the strip on Wednesday and accused Hamas of breaking the cease-fire.
“This action constitutes a violation of the ceasefire agreement. No IDF injuries were reported. In response, the Israel Defense Forces began striking Hamas terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip,” said the IDF.
Hamas accused Israel Defense Forces of putting the cease-fire at risk, calling it a “dangerous escalation,” and appealed to Washington to pressure Jerusalem to adhere to the truce and stop the attacks.
Gaza’s Civil Defence agency, also run by Hamas, told the BBC that 13 people were killed in Khan Younis, the location where the IDF said the incident started with another 10 killed in a Hamas administrative office building in Gaza City.
The agency’s spokesman, Mahmoud Bassal, told the BBC that a drone killed one person injured several others after it struck a group of people standing on a street corner in the east of the city and another person was killed after an IDF tank shelled a house nearby.
The latest flare-up came two days after the U.N. Security Council endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan that produced the cease-fire in a vote in New York that was denounced by Hamas.
While Mondaty’s 13-0 vote to adopt a draft resolution backing plans to build a new Gaza without Hamas was hailed by Trump and senior U.S. officials, Hamas condemned it as dangerous” and an “attempt to subject the Gaza Strip to international authority.”
It said it had the right to resist what it said amounted to an occupation by whatever means and would not disarm.
The plan includes the establishment of an international security force and a two year transitional government — a Board of Peace headed by Trump — together with a new Palestinian police force created and trained by Egypt.
Policing had, until now, been one of Hamas’ functions as the de facto government of the strip.
Historic November moments through the years
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (C) celebrates with teammates after the Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 7 to win the World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto on November 1, 2025. The Dodgers won the best-of-seven series 4-3 for their second consecutive World Series title. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
