Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 60 people, local health officials say
May 19, 2025, 11:14 PM | Updated: May 20, 2025, 7:20 pm
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday have killed at least 60 people across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel has launched another major offensive in the territory in recent days, saying it aims to return dozens of hostages held by Hamas and destroy the militant group.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began allowing a small number of aid trucks into Gaza for the first time in 2 1/2 months, saying he had been pressured to lift a blockade on the territory’s 2 million Palestinians that had sparked fears of famine.
But U.N. agencies said the handful of trucks that entered were nowhere near enough to meet the massive need for food, medicine and other supplies. Some 600 trucks a day had entered during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Two strikes in northern Gaza hit a family home and a school-turned-shelter, killing at least 22 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
A strike in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed 13 people, and another in the nearby built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed 15, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Two strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis killed 10 people, according to Nasser Hospital.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the group operates in densely populated areas.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
The war has displaced around 90% of its population, most of them multiple times.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.
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