Israeli warplanes carried out multiple attacks across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, including children and women, and injuring more than two dozen others, as strikes targeted densely populated neighborhoods, residential buildings, and areas crowded with displaced families.
Israeli aircraft fired several missiles at a residential apartment near the Al‑Israa Tower on Omar Al‑Mukhtar Street in central Gaza City, directly across from the Gaza Municipality Park, where thousands of displaced Palestinians have erected makeshift tents.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its ambulance crews transported seven slain Palestinians and more than twenty wounded to the Shifa Hospital and the PRCS field hospital in Al‑Sahra Square.
Medical teams at the Shifa hospital confirmed receiving four of the victims and several critically wounded survivors, noting that the strike alone pushed the day’s death toll in Gaza City to at least eighteen.
Al‑Jazeera correspondent Ghazi Al‑Aloul reported that the targeted apartment was struck by three missiles, describing the aftermath as a “massacre,” with most injuries listed as critical.
Among the slain residents was a Palestinian woman who happened to be passing by the building; she had been purchasing Eid clothing for her late brother’s children when the missiles struck. Her funeral took place earlier at the Al‑Ahli Cemetery.
Funeral processions for the victims began at dawn, with mourners carrying the bodies from the Shifa Medical Complex to the Al‑Nour Mosque in the Rimal neighborhood before burial at the Sheikh Radwan Cemetery.
Al‑Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Moath Al‑Amour reported that one of the bodies consisted of scattered remains collected over four hours.
Relatives of the victims spoke of the profound grief Palestinians face as Eid al‑Adha approaches, accusing Israel of repeatedly violating the October 2025 “ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli media, including Channels 12 and 14, claimed the army had targeted a meeting of senior Hamas field commanders in Gaza City, alleging that the strike killed the commander of the North Gaza Brigade, his deputy, and the commander of the Zeitoun Battalion.
According to these reports, the commanders were meeting to discuss selecting a successor to Mohammad Odah, the Al‑Qassam Brigades’ Chief of Staff, who was assassinated in an Israeli strike on Tuesday evening in the Rimal neighborhood.
Al‑Jazeera’s Elias Karam said Israeli assessments indicated that the targeted meeting was connected to internal succession discussions following Awda’s killing.
Elias noted that the latest assassinations follow a series of Israeli operations that began with the killing of senior Al‑Qassam commander Ezzedine Al‑Haddad, on May 15, followed by his successor Awda.
During the funerals, a spokesperson identified as Abu Musab said Odah had spent years in preparation and resistance, adding that the movement would continue its operations despite the assassinations.
In northern Gaza, two Palestinians were injured—one critically—when Israeli forces bombed the area surrounding the Hittin Mosque in the Al‑Fallujah neighborhood west of Jabalia refugee camp. Medical teams at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza city confirmed receiving two casualties from the strike, one of whom suffered life‑threatening wounds.
The latest attacks come amid ongoing Israeli bombardment across the Gaza Strip, where densely populated neighborhoods, shelters, and areas hosting displaced families continue to face repeated strikes, causing rising casualties and overwhelming medical facilities already operating under extreme conditions.
Late Tuesday night, a Palestinian woman died from critical wounds she sustained in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential building west of Gaza City the previous evening, raising the death toll from the attack to four.
Medical sources confirmed that Hidaya Al‑Batreekhi succumbed to her injuries hours after the strike, which hit a densely populated area near Al‑Kanz Mosque in the Rimal neighborhood on the eve of Eid al‑Adha. The same attack killed instantly four Palestinians, including two women, and wounded five others.
This latest escalation follows Israel’s announcement that it targeted a senior Hamas military commander in Gaza, an operation that coincided with the killing of eleven Palestinians and numerous injuries.
Since the “ceasefire” agreement of October 10, 2025, Israel has carried out repeated attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 906 Palestinians and injuring more than 2,747 others, according to Al‑Jazeera’s ceasefire‑violation tracker.
These figures underscore the scale of ongoing Israeli violations despite the agreement, with strikes repeatedly hitting residential neighborhoods, shelters for displaced families, and civilian infrastructure.
According to the latest figures published by Al‑Jazeera and the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 72,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 172,800 have been injured across the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
These totals include thousands of children and women and reflect the cumulative impact of continuous Israeli bombardment, ground operations, and the collapse of medical services throughout the territory.
