Dozens killed in Gaza attacks amid ceasefire deadlock

GAZA — Dozens of Palestinians were killed and many others wounded as the Israeli military continued intensive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, while ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel remain deadlocked.

"At least 35 people were killed and more than 50 others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential area in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City," said Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, updating a previous death toll of 29. In addition, at least five more were killed in a later strike on a house in the same neighborhood, he added.

Basal noted that rescue operations were ongoing amid severe equipment and resource shortages, highlighting additional challenges facing Civil Defense teams — particularly after their headquarters were reportedly struck, with several crew members injured.

Residents reported hearing massive explosions. "Smoke and dust filled the air," said Fares Awad, a resident from the Shuja'iyya neighborhood. "The scenes were horrific. Bodies were scattered in the streets, homes were destroyed, and many of the victims were children."

In southern Gaza, multiple locations were attacked, resulting in casualties. Three people were killed in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, while an elderly man and a woman reportedly died after an airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced persons in Rafah, according to Palestinian sources.

In central Gaza, a strike hit the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and killed two persons, the sources added.

Hamas condemned the "massacres committed by the Israeli army with American support."

'Systematic attempt'

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the airstrikes as "a systematic attempt to force mass displacement and eradicate the Palestinian presence in Gaza".

Israeli media outlets claimed that the attacks were aimed at assassinating Haitham al-Sheikh, a senior Hamas commander allegedly responsible for coordinating attacks against Israel.

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that its troops were working to "eliminate terrorist infrastructure" and had conducted over 45 air operations against Palestinian targets.

Israel said on Wednesday its troops were seizing "large areas" in Gaza and making the Palestinian territory "smaller and more isolated".

Defence Minister Israel Katz said that "large areas are being seized and added to Israel's security zones, leaving Gaza smaller and more isolated", during a visit to the newly announced Morag Corridor between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said that France plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the "coming months", a move that risks antagonizing Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

Katz emphasized that Israel would keep increasing pressure on Gaza "until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated".

Katz also said Israel was encouraging plans for "voluntary emigration … in accordance with the vision of the US president, which we are working to implement".

US President Donald Trump this year proposed a plan to develop Gaza into a "Riviera of the Middle East" while displacing its population elsewhere.

According to Gaza-based health authorities, the number of Palestinians killed since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire and resumed military operations on March 18 has risen to 1,482.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is also deteriorating rapidly.

On Wednesday, health authorities in Gaza said around 60,000 children are facing life-threatening malnutrition due to the continued closure of border crossings by Israel, which has blocked the entry of food, humanitarian assistance and medical supplies.

The persistent Israeli strikes come amid a deadlock in Gaza ceasefire negotiations. In a statement, Hamas official Husam Badran said the current ceasefire proposals remain "incomplete," but discussions with mediators continue.

Hamas maintains that any agreement must include a comprehensive ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — conditions Israel has so far rejected.

Xinhua - Agencies