Camille Naredo

Smoke plumes billow during Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP/File

Smoke plumes billow during Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Article (news)

GAZA

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747723227909AFP__20250104__36RX8CK__v3__Preview__TopshotPalestinianIsraelConflict.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Smoke plumes billow during Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Smoke plumes billow during Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. <em>Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories -- Gaza&#x27;s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people on Tuesday across the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, where Israel has intensified a military offensive aimed at crushing Hamas.</p><p>Aid trickled into the Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time in more than two months, following intense international condemnation over Israel&#x27;s total blockade that has sparked shortages of food and medicine.</p><p>The Israeli army stepped up its military offensive in Gaza on Saturday, saying it was aimed at &quot;the defeat of Hamas&quot; -- the Islamist group that runs the Palestinian territory.</p><p>Since then, scores of Gazans have been killed in Israeli strikes on the besieged coastal territory, according to rescuers.</p><p>&quot;Civil defense teams have transferred (to hospitals) at least 44 dead, mostly children and women, as well as dozens of wounded&quot; across Gaza since 1:00 am (2200 GMT Monday), agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/19/israel-will-take-control-of-all-of-gaza-says-netanyahu-1855">READ: Israel will &#x27;take control of all&#x27; of Gaza, says Netanyahu</a></div><p>Bassal said eight were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City and 12 in a strike on a house in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.</p><p>Another 15 were killed in a strike on a gas station near the Nuseirat refugee camp and nine in a strike on a house in the Jabalia refugee camp.</p><p>There was no immediate comment on the strikes from the Israeli military.</p><p>Israel called up tens of thousands of reservists before launching its expanded military offensive, and it sent in ground troops on Sunday.</p><p>Israel&#x27;s security cabinet approved earlier this month a plan to expand its military operation in Gaza, which one official said would include the &quot;conquest&quot; of the territory and the displacement of its population.</p><p>Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Hamas.</p><p>The war was sparked by Hamas&#x27;s unprecedented October 2023 attack on southern Israel.</p><p>&quot;We will take control of all the territory of the strip,&quot; Israel&#x27;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.</p><p>Netanyahu also said it was necessary for Israel to prevent a famine in Gaza for &quot;diplomatic reasons&quot;, after his government announced it would allow limited food aid into the territory.</p><p>The Israeli leader said aid had resumed because &quot;images of mass starvation&quot; could harm the legitimacy of Israel&#x27;s war effort.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/18/israel-to-allow-food-into-gaza-after-two-month-blockade-0619">READ: Israel to allow food into Gaza after two month blockade</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/18/israel-says-open-to-deal-that-includes-ending-the-fighting-in-gaza-2212">READ: Israel says open to deal that includes &#x27;ending the fighting&#x27; in Gaza</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Aid trickles in -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iS-mcQixD1Q?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>On Friday, President Donald Trump of the United States, Israel&#x27;s strongest ally and main arms supplier, acknowledged that &quot;a lot of people are starving&quot; in Gaza.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re looking at Gaza. And we&#x27;re going to get that taken care of,&quot; Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi, on a regional tour that excluded Israel.</p><p>The World Health Organization warned that Gaza&#x27;s &quot;two million people are starving&quot;.</p><p>The leaders of Britain, France and Canada issued a harsh condemnation of Israel&#x27;s conduct of the war, slamming its &quot;egregious actions&quot; in Gaza, particularly the expanded offensive and the &quot;wholly inadequate&quot; resumption of aid.</p><p>They warned of &quot;concrete actions&quot; if Israel did not ease its stepped up offensive. Netanyahu called their joint statement a &quot;huge prize&quot; for Hamas.</p><p>A group of 22 countries, including France, Britain, Canada, Japan and Australia said in a joint statement that Gaza&#x27;s population &quot;faces starvation&quot; and &quot;must receive the aid they desperately need&quot;.</p><p>Israel announced it would let limited aid into Gaza and said the first five trucks entered Monday carrying supplies &quot;including food for babies&quot;.</p><p>UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement that nine trucks had been &quot;cleared to enter... but it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed&quot;.</p><p>On the ground, the Israeli military issued an evacuation call to Palestinians around Khan Yunis in southern Gaza ahead of what it called an &quot;unprecedented attack&quot;.</p><p>The civil defence agency said 91 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory on Monday.</p><p>Hamas&#x27;s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.</p><p>Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead.</p><p>Gaza&#x27;s health ministry said Monday at least 3,340 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war&#x27;s overall toll to 53,486. -- <strong>AFP team in Gaza</strong></p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people on Tuesday across the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, where Israel has intensified a military offensive aimed at crushing Hamas.</p>

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people on Tuesday across the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, where Israel has intensified a military offensive aimed at crushing Hamas.

Gaza rescuers say 44 killed as Israel steps up offensive

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Gaza rescuers say 44 killed as Israel steps up offensive

Agence France-Presse

Published May 20, 2025 02:53 PM PHT

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