At least 16 Palestinians were killed and numerous others wounded early Thursday as Israeli occupation forces launched a new wave of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical and local sources.

In one of the deadliest incidents, Israeli warplanes struck a residential home belonging to the Azzam family and a nearby kindergarten in Jabalia al-Balad, in northern Gaza. The attack claimed the lives of 10 people, including multiple women and children, underscoring the increasingly indiscriminate nature of Israel’s ongoing military campaign.

In southern Gaza, a man and his pregnant wife were killed and others injured when an Israeli drone targeted a group of civilians south of Khan Yunis. The airstrike drew swift condemnation from local officials who described the attack as part of Israel’s deliberate targeting of non-combatants.

Meanwhile, in Abasan al-Jadida, east of Khan Yunis, rescue workers recovered the body of a civilian killed in an earlier artillery barrage. Further north, in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, 13-year-old Ahmed Awad Sarsour was killed when Israeli forces bombed a tent sheltering displaced families in the al-Barakah area.

Sources also reported injuries from Israeli gunfire near a humanitarian aid distribution center in the “Morag axis” southwest of Khan Yunis. Human rights observers warned that targeting of such aid zones poses grave violations of international humanitarian law.

The latest wave of attacks adds to the staggering toll of human suffering in the besieged enclave. Since the Israeli assault began on October 7, 2023, the death toll in Gaza has soared to 54,084, the vast majority of them women and children. At least 123,308 others have been injured, with thousands more still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of flattened neighborhoods.

As strikes continue unabated and humanitarian conditions rapidly deteriorate, international calls for an immediate ceasefire have grown louder. However, prospects for de-escalation remain bleak amid Israel's ongoing military campaign and the absence of a binding international intervention. (ILKHA)