Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 36 Palestinians, including more than a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the U.S. for talks with President Donald Trump about the ongoing war.
Last month, Israel ended a cease-fire with Hamas and launched a renewed air and ground offensive, aiming to pressure the militant group into accepting a new truce and the release of remaining hostages.
Since then, Israel has also blocked deliveries of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza, a territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.
“The situation is becoming desperate, and supplies are running low,” the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.
The latest Israeli strikes, overnight into Sunday, hit a tent and a home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
A female journalist was among the dead.
“My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement. She loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.
The body of one child, under age 2, occupied only one end of an emergency stretcher.
“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” said Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, a cousin of a woman killed in the strike.
Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The bodies of seven people – including a child and three women – arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, according to the Associated Press (AP)
A separate strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery, killing at least six, including three children, according to the civil defense agency, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for a fresh round of anti-war protests.
There is also growing anger inside Israel over the war’s resumption and its effects on the remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages, along with some of those recently freed and their supporters, on Saturday urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump on Monday, marking their second meeting since Trump began his latest term in January.
The prime minister said they would discuss the war and a new 17% tariff imposed on Israel as part of a sweeping global trade decision by the U.S. administration.
“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies.
I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the U.S. and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.
The U.S., a mediator in cease-fire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, expressed support for Israel’s resumption of the war last month.
Since then, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, including 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later.
Israel’s military this weekend backtracked on its earlier account of the incident – captured in part on video – that drew criticism from Red Cross, Red Crescent and U.N. officials.
The Gaza genocide began on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after most of the others were released during cease-fires or through other deals.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says more than half were women and children.
The ministry says another 115,338 people have been wounded.
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