Israel’s military unleashed heavy air and ground strikes on Gaza City on Wednesday, killing at least 123 people in the past day, according to the Gaza health ministry, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled preparations for a full takeover of the city.
The 24-hour death toll, the highest in a week, comes amid the nearly two-year war that has devastated the enclave’s population of more than two million. The Gaza health ministry said the latest fatalities included 12 people killed in an airstrike on a home in the Zeitoun district and nine others shot dead while seeking aid in central Gaza.
Israeli forces also destroyed several homes in Khan Younis in the south, while bombardments targeted the Shejaia neighborhood overnight.
Eight more people, including three children, reportedly died from starvation and malnutrition in the past day, bringing the war’s total hunger-related deaths to 235, including 106 children. Israel disputes these figures, accusing Hamas of diverting aid.
The Israeli military said nearly 320 trucks of supplies entered Gaza in the past 24 hours via Kerem Shalom and Zikim, along with three fuel tankers and air-dropped aid, but the U.N. and Palestinian officials maintain that the volume is far from sufficient.
Netanyahu reiterated a controversial proposal, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, that Palestinians could “leave of their own will,” telling Israeli TV: “All those who are concerned for the Palestinians, should open their gates and stop lecturing us.”
The idea has drawn sharp condemnation from Arab states and world leaders, who warn it would amount to a second Nakba, recalling the 1948 mass displacement of Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Hamas negotiators met Egyptian mediators in Cairo to discuss ending the war, boosting aid, and “ending the suffering” in Gaza, according to Hamas official Taher al-Nono.
Egyptian sources said talks were also addressing a potential comprehensive ceasefire that could involve Hamas relinquishing governance and weapons. A senior Hamas official told Reuters the group would consider options if Israel ended the war and withdrew, but insisted laying down arms before that “is impossible.”
Israeli officials say the planned re-seizure of Gaza City, which was briefly taken in the war’s early days before Israeli withdrawal, could launch as early as October. About half of Gaza’s population lives in the city and surrounding areas.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 in southern Israel, Israeli military operations have killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Written By Rodney Mbua
