Israeli Strikes Across Gaza Hit Homes and Kill at Least 40, According to Hospitals

AP

15:41 JST, March 20, 2025

DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday struck several homes and killed at least 40 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, according to three hospitals.

The strikes hit houses in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza and the northern town of Beit Lahiya, they said.

Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire that had halted the war and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected an Israeli-backed proposal that departed from their agreement.

More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. There have been no reports of Hamas firing rockets or carrying out other attacks.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strikes. The military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is deeply embedded in residential areas.

The European Hospital in the southern city of Rafah said 26 people, mostly women and children, were killed in strikes on two family homes overnight. One of the strikes killed a father and his seven children, it said.

The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies of seven people killed overnight in an attack on a home. In northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital said it had received the bodies of seven people killed in a strike on a home in Beit Lahiya, a town near the border.