“This Is Genocide”: Israeli Strikes Kill Over 100 in Southern Gaza as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

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In one of the deadliest waves of attacks since March, Israeli airstrikes across southern Gaza have killed more than 100 people, including scores of women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency.

The strikes targeted densely populated civilian areas in Khan Younis, Rafah, and Deir al-Balah, leveling homes, clinics, mosques, and makeshift tent camps sheltering displaced families.

In the battered city of Khan Younis, relentless ground and aerial assaults turned residential neighborhoods into rubble fields. Rescuers were seen digging through debris with their bare hands, desperately trying to reach victims buried beneath the wreckage. In Jabalia, a separate strike struck a clinic and a prayer area, killing 15 people — 11 of them children.

The Israeli military defended the strikes, stating they were aimed at Hamas infrastructure, including what it described as a “restored tunnel network” allegedly used by senior officials of the group. Though Hamas has not confirmed or denied the reported death of any top commander, it issued a scathing condemnation, labeling the bombardment “genocide” and accusing Israel of repeatedly violating ceasefire agreements.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a new level of severity. The ongoing Israeli blockade — now entering its third month — has drastically cut off access to essential supplies.

According to a joint statement by 10 international aid agencies, severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine are placing hundreds of thousands of lives at risk. Social media platform X has been inundated with images and testimonies from Gaza, including warnings that “290,000 children are at risk of starvation.”

Efforts to broker a ceasefire remain deadlocked. Qatar and Egypt, acting as mediators, have been unable to bring both sides to an agreement. Israel is pushing to extend the limited truce first negotiated in January, while Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The renewed bombardment comes amid growing concerns that Israel’s proposed southward relocation of Gaza’s population may be laying the groundwork for a “second Nakba,” a reference to the 1948 mass displacement of Palestinians.

Since the start of the conflict in October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry reports more than 52,000 people have been killed, and approximately 70% of the territory’s infrastructure has been destroyed.

International condemnation is mounting. The United Nations has called for immediate measures to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian aid, and resume negotiations. The escalating death toll and scenes of mass devastation have ignited global calls for accountability and peace.

As one Palestinian aid worker wrote on X, “We are witnessing history’s darkest pages being written in real-time — and the world is watching in silence.”