Israel launched its most intense wave of air strikes in Gaza in several weeks on Saturday, killing at least 26 people, according to local health authorities, despite an ongoing ceasefire with Hamas.
The strikes targeted a Hamas-run police facility as well as residential apartments and tent shelters housing displaced Palestinians, medics and security officials said.
Police Station and Civilian Areas Hit
Warplanes struck the Sheikh Radwan police station west of Gaza City, killing 10 police officers and detainees, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run police force and medical teams. Rescue workers continued searching the rubble for possible additional victims.
Separate strikes hit civilian locations. Health officials at Shifa hospital said an air attack on an apartment building in Gaza City killed three children and two women. Further south, seven people were reported killed when a strike hit a tent camp sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis.
Israel Cites Ceasefire Violation
An Israeli military source said the attacks were carried out in response to an incident on Friday in Rafah, where Israeli troops operating under the October ceasefire agreement reported spotting eight armed fighters emerging from a tunnel.
According to the source, three of the fighters were killed and a fourth — described as a senior Hamas commander in the area — was arrested. Hamas has not commented on the incident. Israel said the episode constituted a breach of the ceasefire, while Hamas accused Israel of violating the truce.
Rising Toll Since Truce Took Effect
Footage from Gaza City showed extensive damage to residential buildings, with burned walls and debris scattered across streets.
“We found my three young nieces lying in the street,” said Samer al-Atbash, the uncle of three children killed in the strikes. “They talk about a ceasefire — what did those children do?”
Gaza health officials say Israeli fire has killed more than 500 people, most of them civilians, since a US-brokered truce took effect in October, following two years of war.
Israeli authorities say Palestinian armed groups have killed four Israeli soldiers during the same period.
Ceasefire Talks Continue
Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire, even as Washington urges progress toward the next phase of the agreement aimed at ending the conflict.
The upcoming phase of the plan put forward by Donald Trump involves sensitive negotiations over Hamas disarmament — a demand the group has rejected — further Israeli troop withdrawals, and the possible deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
Rafah Crossing Set to Reopen
Meanwhile, Gaza’s main border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, largely closed throughout the war, is expected to reopen on Sunday, offering limited movement after months of restrictions.