Israeli Airstrikes Kill 56 in Southern Gaza, Hospital Reports

• May 15, 2025

At least 56 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local hospital officials, as Israel intensifies its military campaign against Hamas ahead of a planned ground offensive expansion.

The overnight strikes reportedly hit homes and tents sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza. Local journalists described scenes of devastation at Nasser Hospital, where corridors were crowded with wounded civilians, including women and children. The hospital's mortuary was reported to be full, overwhelmed by the number of casualties.

The Israeli military has not commented on the strikes in Khan Younis. However, Israel has said it is targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure across Gaza. The escalation comes as part of Israel’s broader effort to dismantle Hamas following the group’s deadly cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which left about 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage.

Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, fresh evacuation orders by the Israeli military have triggered panic among residents. The military claims that several civilian buildings, including a hospital, a university, and schools in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, have been turned into “terrorist strongholds.” Israel has warned that these locations will soon be targeted with "intense force."

In a separate development, a U.S.-backed organization announced it would begin operations in Gaza within two weeks. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is part of a controversial U.S.-Israeli aid distribution plan. The foundation has requested Israel to allow the United Nations and other agencies to resume delivering aid until its operations are fully set up.

For the past ten weeks, Israel has blocked aid and other supplies from entering Gaza, prompting international warnings of a looming humanitarian disaster. Aid agencies have raised alarms about potential mass starvation among Gaza’s 2.1 million residents.

Israel imposed the blockade on March 2 and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire. The Israeli government has said its objective is to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining 58 hostages, with up to 23 believed to still be alive.

Since the conflict began in October, at least 52,928 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 2,799 deaths since the offensive resumed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.