Not less than 81 individuals killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, Hamas-run well being ministry says

Not less than 81 Palestinians have been killed and greater than 400 injured in Israeli strikes throughout Gaza within the 24 hours till noon on Saturday, the Hamas-run well being ministry stated.

In a single incident, not less than 11 individuals, together with kids, have been killed after a strike close to a stadium in Gaza Metropolis, Al-Shifa hospital workers and witnesses advised information companies. The stadium was getting used to deal with displaced individuals, dwelling in tents.

Footage verified by the BBC exhibits individuals digging via the sand with their naked palms and spades to seek out our bodies.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli navy for remark.

In the meantime, US President Donald Trump stated he was hopeful a ceasefire may very well be agreed within the subsequent week.

Qatari mediators stated they hoped US strain might obtain a deal, following a truce between Israel and Iran that ended the 12-day battle between the international locations.

In March, a two-month ceasefire collapsed when Israel launched recent strikes on Gaza. The ceasefire deal – which began on 19 January – was set as much as have three levels, however didn’t make it previous the primary stage.

Stage two included establishing a everlasting ceasefire, the return of remaining dwelling hostages in Gaza in alternate for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the whole withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

On Thursday, a senior Hamas official advised the BBC mediators have intensified their efforts to dealer a brand new ceasefire and hostage launch deal in Gaza, however that negotiations with Israel stay stalled.

A rally was organised on Saturday night in Tel Aviv calling for a deal to free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Organisers stated “the time has come to finish the preventing and produce everybody dwelling in a single part”.

In the meantime, Israeli assaults in Gaza proceed. Friday night’s strike close to the Palestine Stadium in Gaza Metropolis killed not less than 11 individuals, hospital workers and witnesses stated.

One witness stated they have been sitting once they “instantly heard an enormous explosion” after a highway was hit.

“This space was filled with tents – now the tents are beneath the sand. We spent hours digging with our naked palms,” Ahmed Qishawi advised the Reuters information company.

He stated there are “no needed individuals right here, nor any terrorists as they [Israelis] declare… [there are] solely civilian residents, kids, who have been focused with no mercy,” he stated.

The BBC has verified footage displaying civilians and emergency providers digging via the sandy floor with their palms and spades to seek out our bodies.

Fourteen extra individuals have been reported killed, a few of them kids, in strikes on an residence block and a tent within the al-Mawasi space.

The strike in al-Mawasi killed three kids and their dad and mom, who died whereas they have been asleep, relations advised the Related Press.

“What did these kids do to them? What’s their fault?” the youngsters’s grandmother, Suad Abu Teima, advised the information company.

Extra individuals have been reported killed on Saturday afternoon after an air strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood close to Jaffa College, the place lots of of displaced Gazans have been sheltering.

The strike killed not less than eight individuals, together with 5 kids, the Palestinian well being ministry stated.

One witness Mohammed Haboub advised Reuters that his nephews, father and the youngsters of his neighbours have been killed within the strike.

“We did not do something to them, why do they hurt us? Did we hurt them? We’re civilians,” he advised the information company.

The well being ministry stated ambulance and civil defence crews have been dealing with difficulties in reaching plenty of victims trapped beneath the rubble and on the roads, as a result of impossibility of motion in a number of the affected areas.

The Israel Protection Forces (IDF) has not but commented on these reported strikes.

The IDF launched a press release on Saturday night saying it had killed Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa, a senior determine in Hamas’s navy wing, within the space of Sabra in Gaza Metropolis on Friday.

The IDF stated he was one of many founding members of Hamas’s navy wing, a member of Hamas’s normal safety council, and performed a “important function within the planning and execution” of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on Israel.

The Israeli navy launched its bombardment of Gaza in response to the assault, wherein about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage.

Greater than 56,000 individuals have been killed in Gaza since then, in keeping with the territory’s Hamas-run well being ministry.