Over 30 Killed as Israel Bombs Gaza Despite Peace Agreement
- Israeli air strikes had killed at least 31 people across Gaza, marking the highest single-day death toll reported in more than two months
- Gaza health authorities had said the victims included children, women, and emergency personnel, with dozens more injured and some trapped under rubble
- The Israeli military said the strikes followed an alleged ceasefire violation, while questions resurfaced over total casualty figures from the war
Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 31 people on Saturday January 31, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, marking the deadliest day reported in the enclave in more than two months.
The ministry said the fatalities included six children, while at least 30 others were wounded, some of them critically.
Source: Getty Images
The latest toll came despite a ceasefire that took effect in mid-October and has not halted periodic military operations.
According to CNN, since the truce began, the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to more than 500, health officials said.
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Children, women among the dead after Israeli strikes
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, said children made up roughly a quarter of the bodies recovered, while women accounted for about a third.
He added that an elderly man and four female police officers were also among those killed.
Basal said some victims remained trapped under rubble after strikes hit shelters, tents housing displaced families, residential buildings, and a police station.
Emergency crews continued rescue efforts amid damaged infrastructure and limited access to heavy equipment.
Dr Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, told CNN that hospitals were receiving a high number of critically injured patients. He said the death toll was likely to rise as doctors struggled to treat severe wounds with strained resources.
Source: Getty Images
Israeli military responds to reports
The Israel Defense Forces said the strikes targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad positions across Gaza. The military said the operations followed what it described as a breach of the ceasefire on Friday, when eight militants were detected leaving underground facilities in eastern Rafah.
According to the IDF, three of those militants were killed and one was captured.
The Israeli military has continued to conduct strikes since the truce began, accusing Hamas of repeated violations of the agreement.
Samer Al Atbash, a relative of victims killed in one of the strikes, described the scene at his family home.
He said:
“We woke up at 4 a.m. suddenly to find that they struck three girls, my aunt who is an old lady and her daughter.”
He added that his nieces were outside the house when the strike occurred.
Another resident questioned the meaning of the ceasefire, saying:
“Truce, truce, what’s our fault, what is our children’s faults.”
Questions over casualty figures
The latest deaths followed reports by local Israeli media that military officials had acknowledged during a briefing that about 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the Gaza war.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted officials as saying the figure did not include those missing. Kan 11 attributed the estimate to the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories.
The IDF said the reported figures did not reflect official military data and declined to clarify whether it maintains comprehensive casualty records
Earlier in the war, Israeli authorities repeatedly questioned figures released by Gaza’s health ministry, which Israel says is controlled by Hamas.
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