Israeli airstrikes across Gaza have killed more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry reported on Monday. The attacks occurred nearly a week after Israel abruptly ended its ceasefire with Hamas with a wave of strikes.
Egypt Proposes New Ceasefire Deal
Egypt has put forward a new proposal aimed at reviving the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, officials said.
As part of the plan, Hamas would release five hostages, including an American-Israeli, in exchange for Israel allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and agreeing to a weeks-long pause in hostilities. Israel would also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
A Hamas representative stated that the group had responded “positively” to the offer but did not provide specifics. Both Egyptian and Hamas officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.
Surge in West Bank Settlement Approvals
An Israeli anti-settlement group has reported an "unprecedented surge" in approvals for new settler homes in the occupied West Bank since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office.
During his previous term, Trump strongly supported Israel’s territorial claims, often challenging long-standing U.S. policy. While past administrations criticized settlement expansion, they took little concrete action against it.
Israel strikes Gaza's largest hospital
Peace Now, which monitors settlement growth, stated that Israel has advanced plans for 10,503 housing units in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, surpassing the 9,971 units approved in all of 2024. An additional 1,344 homes are expected to receive approval on Wednesday.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. The Palestinians seek these territories for a future state and view Israeli settlement expansion as a major obstacle to peace. Israel has established over 100 settlements, housing more than 500,000 Israeli citizens, while about 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military control. The Palestinian Authority governs major population centers.
Senior Hamas Official Killed in Hospital Strike
The Israeli military has confirmed that an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza killed senior Hamas official Ismail Barhoum, who was responsible for the group’s finances.
According to Hamas, Barhoum was receiving medical treatment at Nasser Hospital when the strike occurred. The attack also killed a teenage boy who was recovering from surgery.
The Israeli military stated that Barhoum managed Hamas’ finances in Gaza and oversaw funding transfers to its military wing. He had recently taken over as head of Hamas’ government in Gaza after the previous leader was killed in an Israeli strike.
Israel has targeted and eliminated many top Hamas leaders and mid-level commanders throughout the 17-month war. However, Hamas was able to quickly reassert control over Gaza during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Civilian Casualties and Humanitarian Crisis
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 61 people killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours were brought to hospitals, along with 143 wounded individuals.
The total Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has now exceeded 50,000, with more than 113,000 wounded, according to the ministry. These figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that six paramedics disappeared while on a rescue mission in Rafah after Israeli forces entered the area on Sunday morning. There has been no communication with them since.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, an Israeli airstrike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least four people, including a child. Medical facilities treated 18 others wounded in the attack. Three other hospitals reported a combined 25 deaths from overnight Israeli strikes. The Israeli military has not commented but maintains that it targets militants and takes measures to minimize civilian casualties.
Attack in Northern Israel
A vehicle attack followed by gunfire at a bus stop in northern Israel left one man in his 70s dead, Israeli authorities said.
Police stated that the attacker ran over multiple people before opening fire. Officers shot and killed the assailant, whom they identified as a suspected Palestinian militant. A man in his 20s was hospitalized in serious condition.
Wounded children overwhelm Gaza hospital amid relentless Israeli airstrikes
Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, violence in the region has escalated. Israel has carried out military operations in the occupied West Bank, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian casualties. Additionally, there has been an increase in attacks by Jewish settlers.
Thousands Trapped in Rafah
Palestinian officials report that thousands of people remain trapped in Rafah after Israeli forces encircled parts of the city.
Israel has ordered the evacuation of Tel al-Sultan, instructing residents to flee to Muwasi, an area with makeshift tent camps along the coast. While thousands have left, many remain stranded by advancing Israeli troops.
The Rafah municipality stated that the trapped individuals include first responders from the Civil Defense and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel Defends Its Military Actions
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz defended the country’s military operations, stating that Israel is making efforts to avoid civilian casualties while targeting Hamas militants.
Katz’s remarks came nearly a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas, launching a series of strikes that local health officials say killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them women and children.
“Israel is not fighting Gaza’s civilians and is doing everything required under international law to minimize harm,” Katz said. He blamed Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing the group of using noncombatants as human shields.
Katz reiterated that Israel would continue its offensive until Hamas releases all hostages and is no longer in control of Gaza.
Rising Death Toll
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 25 Palestinians in the past day, according to hospital reports.
Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City received 11 bodies from overnight strikes, including three women and four children. One attack killed two children, their parents, their grandmother, and their uncle.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received seven bodies from overnight strikes and four from previous attacks. The European Hospital near Khan Younis received three bodies.
Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates that more than 50,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, with women and children comprising more than half of the casualties. The Israeli military claims to have killed approximately 20,000 Hamas fighters but has not provided evidence. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 during their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
U.S. Surgeon Describes Hospital Attack
A U.S. trauma surgeon working in Gaza reported that many patients injured in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital had already been wounded in previous attacks.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a California-based surgeon with MedGlobal, stated that he was in the hospital’s intensive care unit when the airstrike hit surgical wards on Sunday. Many of the victims had been recovering from injuries sustained in earlier airstrikes.
Israel orders troops to go deeper into Gaza
“They were already trauma patients, and now they’ve been traumatized again,” Sidhwa told Australian media.
He said a man and a boy he had operated on just days before were among those killed in the attack.
Source: With input from agnecy