In a statement on Wednesday, Gaza's Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal reported the latest deaths as Israeli warplanes continued to carry out intense air raids on the central and northern areas of Rafah in southern parts of the besieged Palestinian territory.
“In less than twelve hours, Israeli occupation forces have committed horrific massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 100 people, including around 35 children, documented crimes that add to the ongoing record of violations against our people,” the official said.
Israeli airstrikes battered Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and central refugee camps, striking homes, tents, and a hospital courtyard. Medics warned the death toll would likely climb, with many critically injured and others trapped under rubble. After nearly 12 hours of intense bombing, Israel claimed it was reinstating the ceasefire at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT).
“These massacres are being carried out before the eyes of mediators and the international community, which remains silent and incapable of taking any real steps to stop the ongoing bloodshed that has continued for more than two years,” Basal added.
Israel, which routinely strikes Gaza in violation of the ceasefire, blamed Hamas for breaching the agreement, claiming the group attacked Israeli troops in Rafah on Tuesday, which killed one soldier.
“What is happening in Gaza today is a disgrace to humanity and shows that the international community, through its silence, has become complicit in these violations,” Basal further stressed.
Gaza’s Civil Defense also called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, safe humanitarian corridors for essential aid, international protection for civilians and medical teams, and a global effort to rebuild Gaza’s devastated infrastructure.
It condemned the world’s silence as a moral failure and vowed to continue its humanitarian mission despite the immense challenges.
Of those killed in Israel’s overnight strikes, 18 belonged to a single family whose home in the Nuseirat refugee camp was completely destroyed by an airstrike.
The existing ceasefire was reached in Egypt earlier this month with the aim of implementing the first phase of a 20-point plan forwarded by Donald Trump.
The US president says the proposal is aimed at ending the regime’s two-year-plus war of genocide on Gaza.
However, the Israeli regime has frequently violated the truce through strikes and bombardment.
Hamas has already called on guarantors, namely Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States, to act immediately to pressure the regime and curb its brutal escalation against civilians in Gaza, stop its serious violations of the agreement, and urge it to adhere to all of its terms.