Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Thursday claimed at least 70 lives, Palestinian medics reported, as the U.S. and Arab mediators continued efforts to broker a ceasefire while U.S. President Donald Trump visited the region.
The majority of the casualties, including women and children, were killed in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, when airstrikes hit homes and tents, according to local sources. Among the dead was Hassan Samour, a local journalist with Hamas-run Aqsa radio, who perished alongside 11 family members when their home was targeted.
The Israeli military had yet to comment on the strikes, which are part of its broader offensive in Gaza aimed at dismantling Hamas in retaliation for the 2023 attacks on Israel.
Hamas responded by accusing Israel of using airstrikes as a tactic to disguise negotiations. Indirect ceasefire talks involving Trump’s envoys and mediators from Qatar and Egypt are ongoing in Doha, though no significant progress has been reported.
The airstrikes came on the anniversary of the Nakba, the 1948 catastrophe during which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced during the Arab-Israeli War that led to the creation of Israel. For many Palestinians in Gaza, the current crisis feels worse than the Nakba.
“What we are experiencing now is even worse than the Nakba of 1948,” said Ahmed Hamad, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City. “We live in a constant state of violence and displacement. Death surrounds us everywhere.”
The violence has intensified since Trump’s visit to the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, which many Palestinians had hoped would push for a truce. The latest round of strikes follows another on Wednesday that killed at least 80 people, according to health officials.
While Hamas has expressed a willingness to release remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that interim truces are insufficient and that the war will only end once Hamas is completely dismantled.
A Palestinian official close to the talks said that progress remains stalled, blaming Israel’s insistence on continuing the military campaign.
Since Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage, over 52,900 Palestinians have died, according to local health officials. The violence has pushed Gaza to the brink of famine, with aid groups warning that half a million people face starvation.
Humanitarian organizations have been unable to deliver aid to Gaza since March 2. A U.S.-backed organization is expected to begin aid distribution by the end of May, though it has requested that Israel allow the United Nations and other agencies to resume their operations immediately.
In a later statement, Hamas indicated it had anticipated the return of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the resumption of ceasefire talks following the release of U.S.-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander on Monday. However, Hamas warned that failure to deliver aid could jeopardize future negotiations, including those involving a prisoner swap.
“Failing to achieve these steps, especially allowing humanitarian aid for our people, will cast negative shadows over efforts to conclude prisoner swap negotiations,” Hamas said.
