Israeli Strikes Kill 30 Palestinians in Highest Death Toll Since Gaza Ceasefire
Israeli strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including children, in Gaza on Saturday, marking the deadliest day since ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
The strikes took place a day before the scheduled reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, in line with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Highest Death Toll
According to hospitals in Gaza, over 30 Palestinians were killed and 30 others wounded in Israeli strikes on Saturday. The strikes targeted several locations across Gaza, including a residential building and police station in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis.
The Nasser Hospital said that the tent camp strike sparked a fire, killing seven people from one family, reported the Associated Press (AP). In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said that the strike on the apartment building killed three children and two women, while the strike on the police station killed at least 14.
The reported killings represent the highest day’s death toll in more than two months. The war in Gaza has claimed the lives of 71,769 Palestinians and injured 171,483 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
For the first time, the Israeli military acknowledged on Thursday that the Gaza Health Ministry’s figures are largely accurate, according to Israeli media. “We estimate that about 70,000 Gazans were killed in the war, not including the missing,” Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported, quoting military officials.
Violation Claims
The Israeli military claimed that the Saturday attacks were in response to two separate ceasefire violations on Friday, “in which eight terrorists were identified exiting the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah,” it said in a statement, adding that its forces killed three of the militants.
Since the ceasefire came into force in mid-October, the Israeli military has carried out regular strikes on targets in Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the agreement – a claim the Palestinian group rejects.
On the other hand, Hamas described the Saturday strikes as a “renewed flagrant violation,” calling on the US and regional mediators to press Israel to stop them.
Moreover, senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, criticized the newly-inaugurated Board of Peace, questioning its legitimacy. “All available indicators suggest that we are dealing with a ‘Board of War,’ not a ‘Board of Peace,’” he wrote on X.
Regional Condemnation
Egypt and Qatar, two of the ceasefire mediators, strongly condemned the Saturday strikes, warning that the Israeli repeated violations undermine regional and international efforts to restore stability.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned “recurrent Israeli violation,” warning that they represent a “direct threat to the political course” of the truce and undermine efforts to move to the next phase of the peace plan.
Similarly, the Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli strikes as a “dangerous escalation,” stressing the need for Israel to fully adhere to the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Rafah Crossing
Israel is set to partially reopen the Rafah Border Crossing on Sunday, which has been closed since May 2024. The Rafah Border Crossing is a critical entry point for essential medical equipment, food and other supplies into Gaza.
“The Rafah Crossing will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only,” the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement on Friday.
The crossing will open Sunday on a trial basis, while the regular reopening will take place on Monday, according to the head of the Palestinian technocratic committee (NCAG), Ali Shaath.
