DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥 At least 22 children were killed in Gaza overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday in a punishing series of Israeli airstrikes on homes in northern Gaza, according to local hospitals.
The strikes killed at least 48 people in total, the Indonesian Hospital in Jabaliya reported. The strikes came a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage in a deal brokered by the United States, and as President Donald Trump was visiting Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was 鈥渘o way鈥 Israel would halt its , dimming hopes for a ceasefire.
The Israeli military refused to comment on the strikes, but had warned residents of Jabaliya to evacuate late Tuesday night due to Hamas infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers.
In comments released by Netanyahu鈥檚 office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza 鈥渨ith great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.鈥
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in a 2023 intrusion into southern Israel. Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians.
Israel鈥檚 offensive has obliterated vast swaths of Gaza鈥檚 urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times.
