The stench of burning concrete and blood hung heavy over the streets of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis on Wednesday morning as rescue workers clawed through mangled ruins with bare hands. Hours earlier, Israeli warplanes had unleashed one of the deadliest bombardments since the ceasefire began earlier this month — killing at least 104 Palestinians, including 46 children and 20 women, and wounding more than 250 others.
The strikes, which began just after midnight, shattered what had been a tenuous calm under the October 10 truce. Witnesses described a terrifying night of explosions so intense that “the ground itself trembled,” as Israel said it was retaliating for the killing of one of its soldiers in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza.
The Night the Ceasefire Collapsed
Residents of Deir al-Balah said the bombing began around 12:30 a.m., targeting at least six residential blocks and several makeshift camps where displaced families were sheltering. “It felt like the end of the world,” said 38-year-old Jamal Nasser, who lost his wife and two daughters when a missile struck their home. “We were told there was a ceasefire. We believed it. Then they came for us in our sleep.”
Hospitals, already crippled by months of warfare and dwindling fuel supplies, were overwhelmed. At the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, medics described scenes of chaos as dozens of bodies arrived in quick succession — many of them small children burned beyond recognition.
“They burned children while they were asleep,” cried 27-year-old Haneen Mteir, whose sister and three nephews were among the victims. Standing amid the morgue’s metallic tables, she screamed as another stretcher was wheeled past — a young boy’s lifeless hand dangling over the edge.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the toll: 104 dead, 253 wounded — “most of them women and children.” In Deir al-Balah alone, more than 40 bodies were recovered from the rubble of three flattened apartment buildings.
Israel’s Explanation: Retaliation for Rafah Shooting
The Israeli military later said the strikes were “limited and targeted responses” to what it called “serious violations of the ceasefire” by Hamas. Officials confirmed that an Israeli soldier had been shot and killed earlier that day by a sniper in Rafah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Hamas had also failed to comply with provisions of the ceasefire agreement requiring the handover of hostage remains.
“This government will not tolerate violations of a truce that our soldiers have paid for with their blood,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement. “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acted proportionally and within the bounds of its security mandate.”
Within hours of the bombardment, the Israeli military announced that the ceasefire was “back on,” claiming its objectives had been met and no further airstrikes were planned. But for Gaza’s residents, the declaration offered little comfort.
“There is no ceasefire when bombs fall on our homes,” said 62-year-old Umm Ahmed, a grandmother who survived the night by hiding beneath a collapsed staircase with her two grandchildren. “Every time they say ‘ceasefire,’ we bury more children.”
Hamas Response: ‘A Blatant Violation’
Hamas swiftly denied responsibility for the Rafah shooting, calling Israel’s retaliation “a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal.” In a statement released from an undisclosed location, the group’s spokesperson, Abu Ubaida, accused Israel of using the alleged attack as “a pretext to reignite war and undermine peace efforts.”
The group also said it would delay the handover of a hostage’s body that was scheduled under the truce, citing “Israel’s aggression and bad faith.” “Our patience has limits,” the statement warned. “If Israel believes it can bomb us into submission, it is mistaken.”
International mediators, including officials from Egypt and Qatar who brokered the October ceasefire, expressed alarm over the escalation. Egyptian foreign ministry sources told DOYA News that Cairo was in “urgent contact” with both parties to prevent a full collapse of the truce. “The risk now is total breakdown,” one diplomat said. “Both sides are accusing each other of bad faith, and civilians are paying the price.”
Ground Zero: A Humanitarian Nightmare
By dawn, Gaza’s streets were littered with debris — chunks of concrete, twisted metal, children’s shoes, and the ashes of what once were homes. In Deir al-Balah, civil defense teams worked frantically to rescue survivors trapped under rubble, while mosques broadcast prayers for the dead.
Ambulances raced between neighborhoods, their sirens blending with the wails of mourning families. Outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a crowd gathered around pickup trucks carrying the bodies of entire families wrapped in blood-stained white shrouds.
Dr. Salim Abu Zor, an emergency physician at the hospital, described the night as “a massacre of innocents.” “We ran out of space in the morgue,” he said, exhaustion etched across his face. “We had to line up bodies in the courtyard. Many of them were babies.”
Fuel shortages, a result of the blockade and limited cross-border aid, forced hospital staff to ration power. Life-support machines flickered as generators sputtered. “If more airstrikes happen tonight, we will not be able to save anyone,” said Dr. Abu Zor.
Collateral of Politics and Power
The attack has reignited global debate over Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law and the ethics of its military response. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have demanded an independent investigation into what they described as “disproportionate use of force.”
“This is not self-defense — it is collective punishment,” said Amnesty’s Middle East director, Heba Morayef. “Killing over a hundred people, most of them women and children, in retaliation for one soldier’s death cannot be justified under any circumstances.”
Israel, however, maintains that Hamas embeds its operations within civilian areas, forcing the IDF to strike targets that “regrettably result in collateral damage.” Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari reiterated that the IDF takes “unprecedented steps to minimize civilian harm,” including advance warnings via leaflets and phone messages.
But residents say no such warnings were given. “They didn’t warn anyone,” said survivor Mahmud Al-Masri, who escaped a strike that leveled his apartment building in Khan Younis. “The first explosion woke us up; the second buried us alive.”
The International Fallout
The global reaction to the strikes was swift and divided. The White House urged “restraint and respect for the ceasefire terms,” while reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the bombardment “deeply concerning” and warned that “every violation risks plunging the region into renewed chaos.”
At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “grave concern” over civilian casualties, urging both sides to recommit to peace. “The cycle of provocation and retaliation must end,” Guterres said. “The children of Gaza cannot continue to pay the price of political failure.”
Meanwhile, protests erupted across several Arab capitals, with demonstrators condemning Israel’s actions and accusing Western powers of hypocrisy. In Cairo, hundreds marched toward the Israeli embassy, chanting, “Gaza bleeds, the world sleeps.”
Netanyahu Under Pressure
For Prime Minister Netanyahu, the strikes come at a politically precarious time. Domestically, he faces mounting criticism over his handling of the ceasefire and allegations of bowing to far-right elements within his coalition who oppose any form of truce with Hamas.
“The right wing in Israel has been calling for a stronger hand,” said Israeli analyst Barak Cohen. “Netanyahu’s response appears designed to reassert control and appease his political base, even if it risks international backlash.”
Opposition lawmakers in the Knesset have also questioned the government’s strategy. “We can’t bomb our way to peace,” said Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party. “Every time we strike Gaza, Hamas gets stronger, not weaker.”
In the Palestinian territories, however, many see Israel’s actions as part of a broader strategy to dismantle the truce altogether. “They never wanted peace,” said political analyst Omar Shaban in Gaza City. “Every lull is used to regroup, rearm, and strike again. This is not security — it’s perpetual domination.”
The Cycle of Trauma
As the sun rose over Gaza, the death toll was still climbing. Rescue workers uncovered yet another family of six — a mother, father, and four children — buried beneath the ruins of a three-story building. Nearby, relatives of the dead wept as the call to prayer echoed over the rubble-strewn streets.
For survivors like Umm Ahmed, life has become a continuous loop of grief and fear. “Every night, we sleep not knowing if we will wake up,” she said softly. “We have lost everything — our homes, our neighbors, our hope.”
Children, too, bear invisible scars. At a temporary shelter in Rafah, 10-year-old Aisha clutched a doll rescued from her destroyed home. “The planes came back,” she whispered. “Mama told me they wouldn’t, but they did.”
A Ceasefire in Name Only
By Wednesday afternoon, Israel’s military spokesman confirmed that “the ceasefire is back in place,” insisting that all “operational objectives” had been achieved. But across Gaza, few believe in the promise of peace anymore.
“This ceasefire is a ghost,” said humanitarian worker Laila Mansour. “It exists only on paper. On the ground, people are still dying.”
As bulldozers cleared debris and families prepared fresh graves, Gaza’s weary residents faced yet another grim reality — that in a land long defined by cycles of violence, even peace can arrive wearing the sound of falling bombs.
For now, Gaza’s skies are quiet again. But beneath the silence, the echoes of the night’s destruction linger — a haunting reminder that in this endless war of blame and retribution, it is always the innocent who perish.
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