Israel’s latest wave of airstrikes across Gaza has left hundreds dead, including women, children, and medical professionals, as families struggle to retrieve their loved ones from beneath the rubble.
Since the early hours of Tuesday, the Israeli military has intensified its bombardment, killing more than 400 Palestinians and wounding over 500 others. Health authorities in Gaza warn that the death toll is likely to rise, as many remain trapped under collapsed buildings.
Scenes of devastation unfolded across the besieged territory, with grieving families searching through debris and hospitals overflowing with casualties. In Gaza City, Al Jazeera footage showed civilians desperately sifting through destroyed homes and morgues, trying to identify their relatives.
Families wiped out
Among the victims was Nesreen, the sister of Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. She was killed along with her children, Ubaida, Omar, and Lian, as well as Ubaida’s wife, Malak, and their two young children, Siwar and Mohammed.
The family had survived previous bombings and displacement, but their home was struck again in the latest escalation. “Israel may kill us at will, burn us alive, and tear us apart, but it will never succeed in uprooting us from our land,” Abdu wrote on social media, demanding accountability for the attacks.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed an airstrike hitting a group of people near the al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, leaving several wounded.
Doctor and infant killed in Rafah
In the southern city of Rafah, a well-known physician, Dr Majda Abu Aker, was killed along with more than a dozen members of her family when an Israeli airstrike hit their home. Dr Aker, an obstetrician at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) clinic, had dedicated her career to caring for Palestinian mothers and infants.
Among those killed in the strike was a three-day-old baby girl. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as rescuers pulled lifeless bodies from the rubble.
Airstrikes hit ‘safe zones’
In Khan Younis, an area designated by Israel as a so-called "humanitarian zone," at least 15 members of the Barhoum family were killed when airstrikes struck al-Mawasi. Despite Israeli claims that civilians would be safe in such zones, repeated bombings have turned them into mass graveyards.
Nearby, a family of six fleeing the attacks was killed when their vehicle was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Abasan, east of Khan Younis.
Another air raid killed two young siblings, Bisan and Ayman, leaving their family devastated. Their aunt, Heba al-Hindi, mourned them in a Facebook post: “Dear children, may God have mercy on you and give patience to your mother and father.”
‘My children died hungry’
A harrowing video from Khan Younis, verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, showed a Palestinian mother grieving over her children and husband, who were killed in the latest wave of strikes.
“My children died hungry. I swear to God they did not find food for suhoor,” she sobbed, referring to the pre-dawn meal during Ramadan. “My daughter died fasting.”
She directed her anguish at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “I am a mother with a burning heart. May God burn your heart over your children.”
Rising death toll
In the northern town of Jabalia, families searched for hours to find the remains of a loved one after a devastating airstrike left a massive crater. Rescuers discovered body parts scattered on a tree.
Jabalia has endured relentless Israeli bombardment since the war began on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military’s operations have flattened much of the town, and attacks resumed in full force after the breakdown of the January 19 ceasefire with Hamas.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s war has killed at least 48,577 Palestinians and wounded 112,041 others. Thousands remain missing or are presumed dead under the rubble, pushing the estimated death toll beyond 61,000.
Despite growing international condemnation, the Israeli military continues its operations, with no sign of a ceasefire in sight.
