Gaza endured another night of terror as Israeli forces carried out a wave of deadly attacks across the Strip, killing at least 30 Palestinians and injuring dozens more. Now in the 686th day of war, families sheltering in schools, tents, and makeshift homes were once again the targets of strikes, leaving yet more bodies pulled from the rubble in the darkness.

In northern Gaza, artillery fire struck the Amr Ibn Al-As School and tents packed with displaced families in Sheikh Radwan, killing 12 people and wounding many others. Hours later, an airstrike levelled an apartment near Abu Assi School in Al-Shati refugee camp, killing five, while another strike on a displacement tent in Al-Jalaa Street claimed five more lives. Medical teams also reported the deliberate demolition of civilian homes in Al-Zaytoun and Al-Shuja’iyya neighbourhoods, using explosives planted by remote-controlled machines.

The devastation extended further south and into central Gaza. A child was killed when a residential building near Al-Ahli Club in Al-Nuseirat camp was hit, while in Al-Sabra neighbourhood, strikes killed a mother and her son at dawn and left more bodies buried under debris. Al-Awda Hospital reported receiving nine bodies in a single day, including women and children, alongside dozens of wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting for humanitarian aid south of Wadi Gaza.

This relentless assault adds to the staggering toll: more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with over 157,000 wounded and thousands still missing. Entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins, hundreds of thousands remain displaced, and famine grips the enclave, taking the lives of countless children. Each new dawn in Gaza arrives with the weight of fresh mourning, as the world watches a humanitarian catastrophe deepen with no end in sight.