At least 27 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Saturday after Israeli air strikes hit homes, a tent camp and a police site in what local health officials described as one of the heaviest days of violence since a ceasefire took effect in October.
Some officials put the toll above 30, highlighting the difficulty of confirming casualty numbers in real time as rescue crews searched rubble and hospitals received waves of injured people.
The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders, weapons and other infrastructure and were carried out after what it called ceasefire violations the previous day.
It said its forces identified armed men emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, an area it controls under the truce arrangements.
Hospitals and local authorities reported deaths in multiple locations including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis.
Medical staff said women and children were among those killed and one strike caused a fire in a camp for displaced families.
A separate strike hit a police facility in the Sheikh Radwan area with hospital and police officials reporting more than 10 deaths there alone including officers and others at the site.
The escalation came one day before Israel said the Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen on a limited basis, a move seen by many Palestinians as crucial for aid and for patients needing treatment outside the territory.
Egypt and Qatar, key ceasefire mediators, condemned the strikes and warned they could endanger the political track of the truce.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025 while the Israeli authorities say militants have also killed Israeli soldiers during the truce period.
The ministry is run by Hamas but its casualty records are regarded as broadly credible by United Nations agencies and independent experts.
The war began after a Hamas led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage with Israel launching a military campaign that has devastated much of Gaza.
Negotiators have been trying to move the ceasefire into further phases that would address issues including demilitarisation, governance and reconstruction but Saturday’s strikes underscored how quickly the truce can fray.
