The Hamas-run health ministry reports that at least 81 Palestinians have been killed and over 400 injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza in the 24-hour period leading up to midday on Saturday.
According to staff at Al-Shifa hospital and eyewitness accounts provided to news agencies, an incident near a stadium in Gaza City resulted in at least 11 fatalities, including children. The stadium was reportedly being used to shelter displaced individuals living in tents.
Verified footage obtained by the BBC shows individuals using their bare hands and shovels to dig through the sand in search of bodies.
The BBC has reached out to the Israeli military for comment regarding these reports.
In related developments, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of a ceasefire agreement being reached within the next week.
Qatari mediators conveyed their hope that U.S. influence could facilitate a deal, following a recent truce between Israel and Iran that concluded the 12-day conflict between the two nations.
A previous two-month ceasefire, initiated on January 19 and intended to be implemented in three phases, collapsed in March when Israel launched renewed strikes on Gaza. The agreement did not progress beyond its initial stage.
The proposed second phase of the ceasefire included establishing a permanent cessation of hostilities, the exchange of remaining living hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official informed the BBC that mediators have intensified efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza, but negotiations with Israel remain deadlocked.
A rally was held in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, with participants calling for a deal to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Organizers stated, “The time has come to end the fighting and bring everyone home in one phase.”
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks in Gaza continue. Hospital staff and witnesses reported that a strike near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City on Friday evening resulted in at least 11 deaths.
An eyewitness recounted, “We were sitting when we suddenly heard a huge explosion” after a road was struck.
“This area was packed with tents – now the tents are under the sand. We spent hours digging with our bare hands,” Ahmed Qishawi told Reuters news agency.
He stated, “There are no wanted people here, nor any terrorists as they [Israelis] claim… [there are] only civilian residents, children, who were targeted with no mercy.”
The BBC has verified footage depicting civilians and emergency personnel using their hands and shovels to excavate the sandy ground in search of bodies.
Reports indicate that 14 additional individuals, including some children, were killed in strikes targeting an apartment building and a tent in the al-Mawasi area.
Relatives informed the Associated Press that the strike in al-Mawasi claimed the lives of three children and their parents while they were sleeping.
“What did these children do to them? What is their fault?” Suad Abu Teima, the children’s grandmother, told the news agency.
Additional fatalities were reported on Saturday afternoon following an air strike in the Tuffah neighborhood near Jaffa School, where hundreds of displaced Gazans were seeking refuge.
The Palestinian health ministry stated that the strike resulted in at least eight deaths, including five children.
Mohammed Haboub, an eyewitness, told Reuters that his nephews, father, and the children of his neighbors were killed in the strike.
“We didn’t do anything to them, why do they harm us? Did we harm them? We are civilians,” he told the news agency.
The health ministry conveyed that ambulance and civil defense teams are encountering difficulties in reaching numerous victims trapped under rubble and on roadways due to restricted movement in the affected areas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has yet to issue a statement regarding these reported strikes.
In a statement released on Saturday evening, the IDF announced that it had killed Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa, a senior figure in Hamas’s military wing, in the Sabra area of Gaza City on Friday.
The IDF described him as one of the founding members of Hamas’s military wing, a member of Hamas’s general security council, and a key figure in the “planning and execution” of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The Israeli military initiated its bombardment of Gaza in response to the attack, which resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 251 individuals.
According to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 56,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
The sixth and final scheduled evacuation flight organized by the government is slated to depart on Sunday.
The BBC’s Lyse Doucet reports from the ruins of an Iranian state TV building hit during the conflict with Israel.
The ayatollah speaks for the first time since the conflict ended, as the US insists Iran’s nuclear sites are destroyed.
Israel’s military says its forces returned fire after being shot at by Palestinians, but the Palestinian foreign ministry blames settlers for the deaths.
EU foreign policy decisions have to be unanimous, so one objection can block the EU from taking action.