In a devastating escalation that has plunged the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire into jeopardy, Israeli airstrikes pummeled Gaza overnight, killing at least 104 Palestinians – including at least 35 children and 20 women – according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The attacks, which Israel described as a “forceful response” mark the deadliest single day of violence since the truce took effect on October 10, 2025. As dawn broke, funerals began unfolding across the besieged enclave, with grieving families burying their dead amid scenes of rubble-strewn streets and wailing mourners.
The barrage began late Tuesday, targeting multiple sites across Gaza, including residential areas in Bureij refugee camp, Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, and Khan Younis in the south. Eyewitnesses described deafening explosions that lit up the night sky, collapsing buildings and igniting fires that raged for hours. Rescue teams, hampered by ongoing shelling and a lack of heavy equipment, sifted through debris into the early morning, pulling survivors and bodies from the wreckage.
The ceasefire, hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a cornerstone of his 20-point Gaza peace plan, had held for just over two weeks, allowing limited aid inflows and a partial Israeli troop withdrawal. Brokered by the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, it required Hamas to release 48 living and deceased hostages captured during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.
Hamas vehemently denied the allegations, labeling Israel’s strikes a “criminal bombardment” and the true violation.
By mid-morning, funerals commenced in mosques and open fields across Gaza, defying the acrid smoke still hanging in the air. In Deir al-Balah, hundreds gathered for the burial of 12 family members killed in a tent camp strike, their white shrouds laid out on prayer mats as imams recited verses from the Quran. “This is not peace; this is endless grief,” wept Fatima al-Masri, 60, as she bid farewell to her grandson.
The UN and human rights groups condemned the escalation, with UNICEF highlighting the 35 child victims.
