By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
DEIR AL-BALAH/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – An Israeli airstrike allegedly killed at least 27 people in central Gaza, primarily women and children, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced criticism from within the War Cabinet over his handling of the war in Gaza.
Hamas-linked authorities and allies claimed the attack happened as fighting raged between Israel’s military and Hamas in northern Gaza on Sunday.
It came as Israel’s leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month.
Prime Minister Netanyahu faced criticism from two other members of his War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not created by June 8, including an international administration for postwar Gaza.
Gantz has accused Netanyahu of not clearly articulating a plan for ending the war now in its eighth month and securing the enclave of more than 2 million Palestinians.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan was scheduled to meet with top Israeli leaders on Sunday to discuss an ambitious U.S. plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood.
Yet the bombings on Sunday highlighted the challenges faced by Israel as it battles against fighters hiding in tunnels and other locations near or in civilian sites, including hospitals, churches, schools, and homes.
AIRSTRIKE
The air strike in Nuseirat, a built-up “Palestinian refugee camp” in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, killed 27 people, including 10 women and seven children, said Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, which received the bodies.
A separate strike on a Nuseirat street killed five people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service.
In Deir al-Balah, a strike killed Zahed al-Houli, a senior officer in the Hamas-run police, and another man, according to the hospital.
Palestinians reported more air strikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says “a famine” is underway.
Israel has denied it is responsible for a famine and claims Hamas is either stealing, selling it for high prices, or halting deliveries.
The local “Civil Defence” said strikes hit several homes near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, killing at least 10 people.
HUMAN SHIELDS
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the Civil Defence, stressed that rescuers had recovered “at least 150 bodies, more than half of them women and children, “ since Israel launched the operation in Jabaliya last week.
Israeli officials say Hamas is using civilians as human shields, adding to the death toll.
Israel launched its offensive after the Hamas October 7 attack in which its fighters stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250.
Mourners gathered on Sunday for the funeral of one of four hostages killed in the attack whose bodies were recently found by Israeli troops in Gaza.
The Hamas massacres triggered a war Gaza’s Hamas Health Ministry said killed at least “35,000 Palestinians.”
However, Hamas-led authorities in Gaza don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Netanyahu said recently that about 16,000 civilians and 14,000 Hamas fighters were killed in the war. He attributed the higher civilian death toll to Hamas tactics of hiding among civilians and forcing them to stay in combat areas.
Around 80 percent of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced within the territory, often multiple times, acceding to local authorities and aid workers.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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