Israel has launched a major new offensive in Gaza, killing over 100 people in the latest spate of overnight attacks, as one of the deadliest phases of bombardment of the enclave continues for the third consecutive day.
At least 300 people have been killed in Gaza since Thursday morning, as the raids and bombardments have escalated violence following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas in March.
The Israel Defence Forces said in a statement late on Friday that they have “launched extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza”.
The announcement came shortly after US president Donald Trump left the region, following a tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Friday, with no apparent progress toward a new ceasefire.
But Mr Trump acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries, without referring to Israel’s blockade on food and supplies entering the territory.
“We have to help also out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides,” he said. When asked if he backed Israel’s war plans, Mr Trump said he expected “good things” over the next month.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency said strikes on Friday killed 108 people — mostly women and children.
The raids and bombardments over the past 72 hours have already killed more than 200 people in Gaza, some officials in the Palestinian territory reportedly said, according to The Guardian.
No food has entered Gaza for 75 days, as Israel has blocked international aid, including food, water and supplies, from reaching hundreds of people who have been reliant on aid after most community kitchens were shut down.
“This is the deadliest and most destructive phase of Israel’s war on Gaza, yet the world has turned away,” said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory at the humanitarian nonprofit Oxfam.
“After 19 months of horror, Gaza has become a place where international law is suspended, and humanity is abandoned.”
Friday’s air and artillery strikes were focused on the northern section of the tiny, crowded enclave, where dozens of people, including women and children, were killed overnight, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Khalil al-Deqran.
The strikes are often carried out at night, when people are sleeping in their tents.
The European Hospital, the only remaining facility providing cancer treatments in Gaza, was put out of service.
The death toll has reached levels not seen since the earliest days of the war, when Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, said Emily Tripp, executive director of Airwars, an independent group in London that tracks recent conflicts.
She says preliminary data indicate that the number of incidents in which at least one person was killed or injured by Israeli fire hovered around 700 in April – a figure comparable only to October or December 2023, one of the heaviest periods of bombardment.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to act to “prevent genocide” in the Gaza Strip, sparking outrage from the Israeli government on Friday.
While briefing the 15-member body earlier this week, Mr Fletcher said: “Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?”
He added that time should not be wasted on the US proposal to deliver aid to Gaza and said the UN has a proven plan, with 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon accused him of delivering “a political sermon” and weaponising the word “genocide” against Israel, questioning under what authority he made what Israel viewed as an accusation.
Israel ended a six-week ceasefire in mid-March and launched an even deadlier offensive, killing hundreds more in Gaza.
Almost 3,000 of the estimated 53,000 people killed since 7 October have died since Israel broke the ceasefire on 18 March, the Palestinian Health Ministry, a body run by the Hamas government said.
In the last 10 days of March, Unicef estimated that an average of 100 children were killed or maimed by Israeli airstrikes each day.
Israel also targeted two ports in Yemen, which it claimed were being used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. According to local health officials, the strikes killed at least one person and injured nine others.
After the strikes on Yemen, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “There will be more to come.”
The Israeli military, which attacked Houthi targets earlier this month, said it had intercepted several missiles fired from Yemen toward Israeli airspace during Mr Trump’s visit to the region.
In Israel, a group supporting the families of hostages said they woke up Friday with “heavy hearts” following reports of intensified attacks.
The group urged Mr Netanyahu to “join hands” with Mr Trump’s efforts to secure the release of hostages. Their appeal came just days after Israeli-American Edan Alexander was freed on Monday through backchannel diplomacy between the US and Hamas.
