Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes on Wednesday left at least 22 people dead, including six children, across the Palestinian territory. According to agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal, one strike in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis killed 10 members of a single family sheltering there, while another strike on the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City claimed 10 lives and injured over 30 others, with victims from two families.

Witnesses described scenes of devastation. Zuhair Judeh, a 40-year-old resident who saw the Al-Shati strike, likened the explosion to an earthquake, with bodies and remains scattered in its aftermath. Abeer al-Sharbasi, 36, expressed despair, stating, “You can’t predict when or why they’ll bomb you. We have nothing left but to surrender ourselves to God.” The Israeli military, when asked for comment, said it was reviewing the reports.

The strikes occurred as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss efforts to defeat Hamas in Gaza. The conflict, ignited by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, has led to a relentless Israeli campaign. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, at least 57,680 people, predominantly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, figures the United Nations considers reliable. A recent mortality survey by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) further corroborated these numbers, noting a tenfold increase in the mortality rate for children under five since the conflict began.

Gaza’s medical infrastructure is buckling under the strain. At Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, mourners gathered as the facility’s director, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, warned that the hospital would cease operations within hours due to a critical fuel shortage. Israel’s restrictions on supplies entering Gaza have severely hampered the region’s healthcare system.

In Al-Mawasi, AFP footage captured the wreckage of makeshift tents destroyed in the strike, with a child’s stuffed toy lying among the debris. “We are extremely tired. Every day they talk of a ceasefire, but we face massacres,” said Umm Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian. In Khan Yunis, mourners bid farewell to loved ones laid out on the ground. Bassal later reported two additional deaths in separate strikes in central Gaza and Gaza City.

The war has also left 49 hostages from the October 7 attack still held in Gaza, with 27 presumed dead by the Israeli military. Due to media restrictions and access challenges in Gaza, AFP is unable to independently verify the reported death tolls and details.