Israeli air strikes kill at least 27 Palestinians in Gaza, rescue officials say

At least 27 people have been killed in a wave of Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to local authorities.

The civil defence agency, which is operated by Hamas, says children and women were among those killed. It added that in one attack, helicopter gunships hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Palestinians have described these strikes as the heaviest since the second phase of the ceasefire, brokered by President Trump in October, came into effect earlier this month.

The Israeli military confirmed that a number of strikes were carried out in response to what it said was a Hamas violation of the agreement on Friday.

Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce since it came into effect last year.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "eight terrorists were identified exiting the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah", an area in Gaza where Israeli forces are deployed under the October agreement.

The IDF said it had, together with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), struck targets in various locations including "four commanders and additional terrorists" as well as a weapons storage facility, a weapons manufacturing site and "two launch sites belonging to Hamas in the central Gaza Strip".

Hamas has condemned the strikes and urged the US to take immediate action, adding that "these ongoing violations" confirm that the Israeli government "continues its brutal war of genocide against the strip".

It said that seven of the victims were from one displaced family in Khan Younis, with a civil defence spokesman adding that the strikes hit residential apartments, tents, shelters and a police station.

Officials at Gaza City's Shifa hospital said an air strike on the city hit a residential apartment, killing three children and two women.

"We found my three little nieces in the street. They say 'ceasefire' and all. What did those children do? What did we do?" said Samer al-Atbash, an uncle of the three dead children, according to Reuters news agency.

Video footage and images from across Gaza showed several bodies being lifted out of rubble and a number of buildings destroyed.

The war between Israel and Hamas began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 71,660 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It says at least 509 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began on 10 October 2025. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

Though Israel has previously disputed figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, a senior security source was reported by local media as saying that the military accepts that more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war in Gaza.

The health ministry's figures have been deemed reliable by the UN and other human rights groups and widely cited by international media. Israel does not allow news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza to report independently.

The strikes come as the Rafah crossing, Gaza's border with Egypt, is due to reopen on Sunday after the IDF recovered the body of Israel's last hostage earlier this week.