By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 100 Palestinians, including 46 children and 40 women, in a widespread offensive across Gaza since Tuesday evening, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, marking a catastrophic collapse of a ceasefire that had taken effect on October 10.
The Ministry reported that the bodies of 104 slain people and 253 wounded were taken to hospitals in the enclave in less than 24 hours. The assault raised the total number of fatalities since the ceasefire began to 211, with 597 others wounded.
The violence continued into Wednesday, with an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia killing at least two more Palestinians, medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed. The Israeli military stated the strike targeted infrastructure allegedly used to store weapons, reiterating that its forces “will continue to operate to remove any threat.”
The attacks were comprehensive, hitting homes, tents sheltering displaced civilians, and civilian infrastructure. A Gaza Civil Defense spokesman described the events as “horrific Israeli massacres” carried out “in full view of mediators and the international community, which remains silent.”
The militant group Hamas held Israel “fully responsible for the escalation,” while asserting its own commitment to the truce. It called on international mediators to “exert immediate pressure on Israel to stop its ‘massacres’ against Palestinians.”
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, “strongly” condemned the recent strikes. His spokesperson stated that Guterres “condemns all actions that undermine the ceasefire and endanger civilian lives,” and stressed that “commitments must be upheld in full.”
DETENTION OF DISABLED MINOR AND PRISON VISITS BANNED
In a separate development, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that a 14-year-old, fully disabled Palestinian boy with autism is being held in Israeli detention and subjected to violence by guards and inmates. The boy, arrested two weeks ago in the occupied West Bank on unspecified security suspicions, has had his detention extended multiple times by a juvenile court.
His mother described the raid to arrest him, stating, “They entered the children’s room and aimed rifles and flashlights at them. My kid shook: he wasn’t able to stand on his feet out of fear.” His lawyer reported the boy is facing “violence and brutal conditions.”
In a related move, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz signed an order on Wednesday banning representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting hundreds of Palestinian detainees held as “unlawful combatants,” claiming the visits “endanger state security.” This designation allows for indefinite detention without trial.
SETTLEMENT EXPANSION APPROVED AMIDST VIOLENCE
Concurrently, Israel has approved the construction of 1,300 new settlement units south of occupied East Jerusalem, according to Israeli media. The plan for the Gush Etzion bloc, which includes schools, public buildings, and a commercial zone, was hailed by the local regional council as “an appropriate response to the large number of residents seeking to live in the area.”
The decision comes less than a week after US criticism of settlement activity and follows preliminary parliamentary steps towards annexing parts of the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reports that the total death toll since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, has now reached 68,643, with 170,655 injured. The majority of the fatalities, it said, are children and women.
[Photo: Jewish settlers argue with Palestinian farmers harvesting olives and activists supporting them in Ramallah, West Bank on October 29, 2025. With the olive harvest season starting in October on their West Bank lands, farmers in the region are frequently subject to attacks by Israeli settlers. Photojournalist: Issam Rimawi/AA]
