Gaza City, Gaza Strip — A wave of airstrikes in Gaza City has claimed the lives of at least 20 Palestinians, striking a crowded restaurant and a nearby market. Eyewitnesses and medics reported chaotic scenes as graphic videos surfaced online, showing bodies in the aftermath of the attacks. The Thailandy restaurant, located in the bustling Rimal neighborhood, had recently transformed into a community kitchen, providing meals amid ongoing conflict.
Additional footage from a marketplace just over 60 meters away depicted a tragic sight: a young child with a backpack lying lifeless on the ground, underscoring the devastating toll of the violence. Local hospitals reported that at least 59 individuals, primarily civilians, have been killed in airstrikes since Tuesday night, many at two schools designated as shelters for displaced families.
Among the casualties were at least 33 individuals, including women and children, who died when the UN-operated Abu Humeisa school in the Bureij refugee camp was bombed twice on Tuesday. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency provided details of the attacks, noting that the Israeli military claimed to have targeted what it described as militants operating from a Hamas command center.
On Wednesday morning, another strike hit the al-Karama school in the eastern Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in 15 additional fatalities. The Civil Defence agency also reported that eight members of a single family lost their lives when their residence in Khan Younis was struck.
These attacks have drawn widespread international condemnation, particularly regarding Israel’s plans to intensify its ground offensive against Hamas. Officials in Tel Aviv have outlined a strategy that includes seizing territory indefinitely, forcibly relocating Palestinians to the south, and taking control of humanitarian aid distribution through private companies.
Israel halted all humanitarian aid to Gaza on March 2 and resumed military action two weeks later, following a two-month ceasefire that ended with rising tensions. Israeli authorities have framed their military campaign as a necessary response to a brutal cross-border attack on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 251 individuals.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, the toll on Gaza has been staggering, with the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry documenting at least 52,653 deaths. The ongoing violence raises urgent questions about the humanitarian situation and the future of millions trapped in the conflict. As calls for diplomacy and ceasefire efforts grow louder, the international community continues to grapple with the complexities of the situation, underscoring the desperate need for resolution.