The Israeli military has intensified its assault on displaced civilians in Gaza, with indiscriminate bombardments targeting makeshift shelters and residential homes. At least 22 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in the latest wave of attacks over the past hours.
In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, 13 Palestinians, including a mother and her young daughter, were killed when Israeli forces bombed four tents housing displaced families in both the eastern and western parts of the city.
In Rafah, two children lost their lives in a similar attack on a tent west of the city. At the same time, another airstrike levelled a home belonging to the Hattab family in Al-Sabra, southern Gaza City, killing four Palestinians.
Simultaneously, Israeli forces intensified their shelling in eastern Gaza and northeastern Al-Bureij refugee camp, while military helicopters opened fire on residential areas in Beit Hanoun. Palestinian Red Crescent teams later recovered the bodies of two more victims and rescued six wounded civilians.
This escalation follows a systematic pattern of violations that contravene international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits the targeting of civilians and the use of human shields. According to the Geneva Conventions, indiscriminate attacks on residential areas and shelters for displaced persons constitute war crimes, warranting urgent international accountability.
Despite a fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States in January 2025, Israel has continued its large-scale violations of the agreement, with at least 412 Palestinians killed and over 562 injured in a single day, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which involved a prisoner exchange, lasted 42 days before expiring in March 2025. However, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has refused to proceed to the second phase, which stipulates a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent cessation of hostilities.
As Gaza’s humanitarian situation deteriorates further, with civilians enduring relentless bombings, starvation, and mass displacement, the international community must act decisively to halt these massacres, which meet the threshold of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The failure to do so not only undermines international law but also emboldens the perpetrators of these atrocities, leaving millions of innocent civilians defenceless.
