Israel Escalates Gaza Bombing, 89 Killed in 24 Hours Amid Global Calls for Ceasefire

Report by “Safarti Tarjuman” International News Desk

Gaza City / Jerusalem — Israeli airstrikes have intensified across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 89 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, including 15 civilians waiting for food aid, amid mounting international condemnation over the deaths of six journalists a day earlier.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency, the heaviest strikes in weeks targeted Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods, leveling homes and possibly high-rise buildings. Witnesses described the bombardment as “the war restarting,” with tanks shelling residential areas and fighter jets deploying “fire rings” of multiple missiles in eastern Gaza.

Medical officials reported that five people — including two children — died from starvation, pushing Gaza’s hunger-related death toll since October 7, 2023 to 227, among them 103 children. The famine crisis has worsened under Israel’s blockade and restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Foreign ministers from 24 nations — including the UK, Australia, France, Spain, and Japan — along with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, urged Israel to allow immediate entry of aid shipments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Palestinians could leave Gaza “if they want,” likening potential refugee outflows to Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Human rights groups condemned the remarks as echoing previous proposals seen as calls for ethnic cleansing.

The killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and four colleagues in Sunday’s airstrike has prompted the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted to carrying out the strike, alleging Sharif led a Hamas cell — a claim dismissed by Al Jazeera and Sharif prior to his death.

UN Secretary General António Guterres and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the attack, with Lazzarini accusing the Israeli army of “silencing voices reporting atrocities from Gaza.”

Since the start of the conflict nearly two years ago, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports 61,599 Palestinians killed and 154,088 injured. The IDF claims to have killed dozens of militants and destroyed tunnels in northern Gaza over the past month.

Despite a security cabinet decision to expand operations in Gaza City, there has been no visible ground advance as of Tuesday.

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