Israel kills more than 25 Palestinians in Gaza, settlers torch home in West Bank

Israeli forces on Saturday killed at least 25 Palestinians, including six children, despite a ceasefire in place since October, and targeted shelters for the displaced.

The attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis have been ongoing since late Friday evening into dawn on Saturday, and come just a day before Israel is set to open the Rafah crossing for the first time since May 2024.

The latest attacks have taken the toll of those killed by Israel in Gaza since the ceasefire to over 525. An additional 1,360 others have been wounded by Israeli attacks in the same period.

Gaza’s government media office said the Israeli army had carried out "grave and systematic violations of the ceasefire over the past 111 days,  which constitutes a blatant breach of international humanitarian law and a deliberate undermining of the essence of the truce".

The office added that at least 50 Palestinians have also been detained since the truce, all of whom were far from the so-called yellow line demarcating the Israeli area of control.

Israeli warplanes also renewed their airstrikes on the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

Hamas slammed the recent attacks, calling them a "dangerous escalation and a deliberate undermining of the ceasefire agreement".

"The ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the [Israeli] occupation […] and the rise in the number of martyrs in various areas of the Gaza Strip in recent hours to 12, including 6 children, represent a brutal crime and a renewed and blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement," the group said.

Israel’s war on Gaza, determined to be a genocide by leading rights groups and UN experts, has killed at least 71,769 people since October 2023.

According to Israeli media, only sick and wounded Palestinians will be allowed to exit Gaza through the Rafah crossing. An Israeli security official said that between 150 and 200 entries and exits are expected daily.

The Israeli occupation's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said those who enter the enclave will have to have prior security authorisation from Israel.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to a home in the Bedouin community of Jaba, located southeast of Ramallah.

Footage from Friday evening shows settlers approaching the Palestinian community after dark and setting the building on fire.

Local residents said around 20 settlers gathered in the night from the nearby Gur Aryeh illegal outpost, and forced the Palestinian residents to evacuate.

Israeli forces also arrested 13 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including a young girl.

A Palestinian prisoner’s group, ASRA, said on Saturday two were arrested in Jenin after Israeli forces stormed the Jabal Abu Dhahir area of the city.

Israeli forces also carried out a raid on the Qalqilya governorate.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces closed the Bab al-Zawiya area in Hebron, forcing shops to close and residents to leave the area.