Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 27 Palestinians

Palestinian girls look at the rubble of the Abou Mahadi family destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on APril 28, 2025. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
Palestinian girls look at the rubble of the Abou Mahadi family destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on APril 28, 2025. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
TT

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 27 Palestinians

Palestinian girls look at the rubble of the Abou Mahadi family destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on APril 28, 2025. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
Palestinian girls look at the rubble of the Abou Mahadi family destroyed in Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on APril 28, 2025. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday killed at least 27 Palestinians, according to local health officials. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory's 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.

The daily bombardment and widespread hunger is taking a heavy toll on Gaza's most vulnerable residents, including pregnant women and children. The United Nations' highest court began holding hearings on Monday into Israel's obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid to the territories it occupies.

Israel says the International Court of Justice is biased against it. It says enough aid entered during the ceasefire to sustain the population and accuses Hamas of siphoning it off.

Humanitarian workers say supplies are running desperately low, with most people eating one meal or less a day. They say the UN closely monitors aid distribution and deny any significant diversion.

Strikes hit three homes

An airstrike hit a home in Beit Lahiya, killing 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released as part of the ceasefire. His wife, two of their children and a grandchild were also killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.

Another strike hit a home in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other people were wounded.

Late Sunday, a strike hit a home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least 10 people, including five siblings as young as 4 years old, according to the Health Ministry. Two other children were killed along with their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

Israel says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in densely populated areas. Palestinians say nowhere in blockaded Gaza is safe.

No end in sight to the 18-month-old war

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of Gaza and left most of its population homeless.

The Health Ministry says 2,151 people, including 732 children, have been killed since Israel shattered the truce on March 18.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is either destroyed or agrees to disarm and leave the territory. He says Israel will then implement US President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle much of Gaza's population in other countries through what the Israeli leader refers to as "voluntary emigration."

Palestinians say the plan would amount to forcible expulsion from their homeland after Israel's offensive left much of Gaza uninhabitable. Human rights experts say it would likely violate international law.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire that Israel ended.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
TT

EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
TT

Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.