Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight and into Tuesday have killed at least 25 people, including eight children and five women, according to Palestinian medical officials. The latest bombardment comes as Israel’s Supreme Court begins hearing a cluster of cases concerning the dismissal of the country’s internal security chief by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The attacks struck multiple areas across the besieged enclave. A devastating strike on a residential building in Deir al-Balah killed 11 members of a single family, including five children, the youngest only two years old, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Another four civilians were killed in a separate strike on a nearby home.
In the north, a family of seven perished after a strike levelled their home in Beit Lahiya, the Gaza Health Ministry reported. Additionally, a strike on an open area northwest of Gaza City killed four more people, including a young man due to be married next week.
Israel’s military says its strikes target Hamas militants, blaming the group for civilian casualties due to its operations in densely populated neighbourhoods. However, the sheer toll on non-combatants has sparked widespread condemnation and renewed accusations from rights groups that Israel is violating international humanitarian law.
The strikes come amid an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since ending a ceasefire with Hamas in March, Israel has imposed a total blockade, halting the delivery of food, fuel and humanitarian aid. International rights organisations have labelled the tactic a war crime and expressed concern over newly issued displacement orders that have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee once more.
Now in its 18th month, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel insists the offensive will continue until Hamas surrenders its weapons, withdraws from the territory, and returns the remaining Israeli hostages taken during the 7 October 2023 attacks.
That attack, carried out by Hamas-led militants, saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage. According to Israeli authorities, the group still holds 59 captives, of whom 24 are believed to be alive.
Supreme court takes up Shin Bet dismissal
While the fighting continues, political tensions are mounting in Israel over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s controversial decision to sack Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, the country’s domestic security service.
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The Supreme Court is now hearing eight separate petitions challenging Bar’s dismissal, marking a potential flashpoint in the long-running battle between the judiciary and Netanyahu’s government. A ruling could have far-reaching implications for the balance of power between Israel’s elected leaders and its independent institutions.
Critics argue that the dismissal of Bar represents a dangerous encroachment on the independence of an agency that is meant to remain apolitical. They point to ongoing investigations by Shin Bet into alleged connections between Netanyahu’s office and officials in Qatar as a possible motivation for the move.
Supporters of Bar claim the prime minister is seeking blind loyalty from a security chief whose role is to remain neutral and operate in the national interest. Netanyahu has defended the decision, citing a “crisis of confidence” in the agency’s leadership following Hamas’s surprise attack in October 2023.
The court’s judgement, expected in the coming weeks, is likely to reignite debate over judicial independence in Israel—a subject that has deeply divided the country over the past year.
As the legal and military dramas unfold in tandem, the humanitarian cost continues to mount, and the road to peace appears as distant as ever.
