Israeli airstrikes killed 52 Palestinians and injured numerous others early Saturday across multiple locations in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.
Among the dead were seven Palestinians in recent strikes, including three in Khan Younis in southern Gaza – one reportedly killed by a drone attack – and two civilians struck in a separate raid.
In the northern Gaza Strip’s Jabalia refugee camp, four were killed when a house in the Tel al-Zaatar neighborhood was bombed.
Earlier reports confirmed 45 Palestinians dead, including nine who perished in an Israeli strike on an aid warehouse in Deir al-Balah, located in central Gaza.
The new wave of attacks comes after the Israeli army announced an expanded campaign dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots.”
According to an army statement, Israeli forces have begun widespread strikes aimed at “liberating hostages and defeating Hamas.”
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the operation aims to occupy the entire Gaza Strip and may last several months. It involves a mass evacuation of all civilians toward the south, where the army plans to establish “secured zones.”
Over the past five days, Israel intensified its attacks in Gaza, coinciding with a regional visit by U.S. President Donald Trump.
During Trump’s four-day Gulf tour, which concluded after his departure from the UAE, Israeli forces killed more than 378 Palestinians, nearly four times the number of fatalities reported in the preceding four days, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
