By Harun Nasrullah
London (The Muslim News): At least 67 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as Tel Aviv’s unrelenting military campaign continued into its eighth month. The fresh bombardments brought the official death toll to 54,249 since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
In a grim update, the ministry stated that 67 bodies were recovered and taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, while an additional 98 names were added to the registry after identification. The total number of wounded has now reached 123,492. “Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported 24 fatalities in a single strike that obliterated a family home in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. In the north, ten more Palestinians — including women and children — were killed in separate attacks on two homes in Jabalia, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Further devastation was recorded in Shejaiya, eastern Gaza City, where medics recovered three bodies from a destroyed house. In various parts of Gaza City, 14 people were killed, while a drone strike targeting civilians in the north of the city led to the deaths of seven more, whose bodies were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital.
The tragedy also struck the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on Palestinians gathered at an aid distribution centre, killing three and injuring several others. A drone strike in the same area killed a man and his pregnant wife, while additional attacks in nearby Abasan town and Deir al-Balah resulted in further casualties, including a 13-year-old child, reported Anadolu Agency.
The toll of the violence continues to mount with no signs of abatement.
On Thursday, WAFA reported additional air, and artillery strikes across the enclave. An Israeli airstrike near Al-Rayyis School in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City caused numerous civilian casualties, while in Khan Younis, a drone attack on civilians at a food distribution site on Al-Sikka Street left several dead and seriously injured. Israeli helicopters also reportedly opened fire on the town of Al-Fukhari, and artillery shells struck Qizan Raswan, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
In response to Israel’s ongoing military campaign and its expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, international condemnation has escalated.
Britain’s Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, denounced the Israeli government’s approval of 22 new illegal settlements. “The Israeli government’s approval of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood,” he said in a post on X. “The UK condemns these actions. Settlements are illegal under international law, further imperil the two-state solution, and do not protect Israel.”
In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob – went further than Falconer – jointly urged the European Union to impose an arms embargo on Israel, suspend trade relations, and sanction individuals involved in the assault on Gaza. The meeting marked the first anniversary of both countries’ recognition of Palestinian statehood.
“There cannot be double standards on Gaza or Ukraine,” Sánchez stated. “And I believe Spain and Slovenia are being coherent when we defend both.” He added, “We must raise our voices on the flagrant and daily violations of human rights and the more than 50,000 lives lost due to Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian population.”
Echoing global concern, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reiterated its plea for urgent humanitarian access to Gaza. “After nearly 12 weeks of siege by Israeli authorities, only a trickle of supplies has entered Gaza,” the agency warned. “But what made it through falls far short of people’s massive needs. Unimpeded access for all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, is urgently needed.”
[Photo: Displaced Palestinians line up in long queues to receive food distributed by aid organizations at Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in. Gaza City, Gaza on May 27, 2025 The situation highlights the growing desperation and urgent need for humanitarian assistance in the besieged enclave. Photojournalist: Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini/AA]
