Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Nov 23: Israel carried out fresh airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza on Saturday, raising new concerns over the fragile ceasefire that has held since October 10. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that five senior Hamas operatives were killed in the strikes, while Gaza health officials reported 24 deaths and 54 injuries, including several children, according to the Associated Press.
The escalation came soon after Israeli troops reported gunfire from within Gaza and just hours after the UN Security Council approved a US-backed roadmap for Gaza’s future security and governance. The plan includes an international stabilisation force, a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump, and a potential pathway to eventual Palestinian statehood.
Israel’s latest response mirrors similar actions taken after earlier alleged ceasefire violations. Health officials in Gaza said 33 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed during a 12-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday.
The strikes triggered widespread casualties across multiple sites. In Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, a vehicle was hit, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20, Shifa Hospital’s managing director Rami Mhanna said. Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya added that most of the injured were children. Separate attacks near Al-Awda Hospital claimed three lives and left 11 injured. In Nuseirat camp, seven people, including a child, were killed and 16 wounded, while in Deir al-Balah, three people including a woman lost their lives.
The Israeli military said the attacks targeted militants responsible for firing at troops after crossing into Israeli-controlled territory in the south. The army said it killed 11 militants in Rafah, detained six others and shot two people who crossed into the northern Israeli-held zone.
The ongoing conflict traces back to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 hostages being taken. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 69,733 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 injured in Israel’s counter-offensive. The ministry’s figures, though released by the Hamas-run administration, are widely regarded as credible by independent experts.
The latest escalation has once again raised questions about the durability of the ceasefire as global leaders urge restraint and renewed engagement.