In the dead of night, the skies above northern Gaza roared again. By dawn, the toll of Israel’s latest barrage had grown grim: 50 lives lost, hundreds displaced, and the screams of the wounded echoed through hospital corridors.
Civil defence officials confirmed the mounting casualties from what they described as relentless shelling of residential areas.
“Between midnight and early this morning, the number of martyrs killed in Israeli shelling targeting civilian homes has risen to 50,” said Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a senior civil defence official. “Our teams are still working in those areas.”
At the overwhelmed Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, where the wounded arrived in waves, a doctor who requested anonymity described a harrowing scene. “Thirty dead. Dozens wounded. Most of them are children and women,” he said.
Nearby at Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, acting director Mohammed Saleh reported receiving five bodies and treating over 75 wounded victims of the night’s bombardment.
On the ground, survivors recounted chaos and fear.
READ ALSO: Israeli Strike on Gaza Building Kills 20 Amid Renewed Hostilities
“The Israeli occupation bombed the house next to mine, hitting it directly while its residents were inside,” said Yousef Al-Sultan, a 40-year-old resident of al-Salatin, west of Beit Lahia. He described a night marred by airstrikes, artillery fire, and drones buzzing overhead. “There is a massive wave of displacement among civilians. Fear and panic grip us in the middle of the night.”
This latest escalation adds to the humanitarian toll in Gaza, where thousands have been forced to flee, seeking safety in overcrowded shelters or with relatives farther south.
International calls for restraint continue to rise, but for many in Gaza, each night brings fresh grief and uncertainty.
As families begin burying their loved ones, the search for survivors in the rubble goes on.