At least 42 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on the first day of Eid al-Adha, as Israeli forces launched a new wave of intense bombardment targeting several areas across the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, 10 Palestinians were killed and many others injured in a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling that hit east of Jabalia al-Balad, in the northern Gaza Strip. In Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood, two people were wounded by Israeli strikes near the Sanafour intersection.

Israeli artillery fire also struck the Abu Iskandar area in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City, though casualty figures for that strike remain unconfirmed.

In the central Gaza Strip, three Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential home in Deir al-Balah.

Civilian Casualties Mount in Southern Gaza

The southern region of Gaza also witnessed heavy losses. Three Palestinians were killed and several others wounded after an Israeli drone strike hit a mobile phone charging station located among tents of displaced families west of Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, four civilians were shot and killed by Israeli forces near the Global Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution point west of Rafah, a city struggling under the weight of ongoing bombardment and displacement.

Additional airstrikes struck the al-Najjar neighborhood and the al-Katiba area in Khan Younis, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the south.

Residents and local observers report that a growing number of displaced Palestinians are no longer complying with Israeli evacuation orders, citing the total absence of safe zones anywhere in the Gaza Strip.

Journalists Killed in Hospital Airstrike

In a targeted airstrike on Thursday, four Palestinian journalists were killed in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City. The victims were identified as Suleiman Hajjaj and Ismail Bdah of Palestine Today TV, journalist Samir Rifai, and photojournalist Ahmad Qalja. Another journalist, Imad Daloul, sustained critical injuries in the attack.

Separately, the Gaza Government Media Office confirmed that journalist Yousef Nakhalah, of the Watania News Agency, was killed in an Israeli strike on May 31.

The Media Office issued a statement condemning the repeated targeting of media professionals, accusing Israel of waging a “systematic campaign” against Palestinian journalists. The office called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and global press bodies to hold Israel accountable for the ongoing assaults on media workers in Gaza.

Overnight Strikes Claim Dozens of Lives

Overnight, the violence continued unabated. An Israeli airstrike on a family home in Jabalia reportedly killed 35 Palestinians. In Khan Younis, tent camps sheltering displaced civilians were also targeted, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people—eight of them children—and injuries to more than 40 others, according to local reports.

The latest escalation underscores the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, as civilians continue to bear the brunt of an increasingly indiscriminate and destructive military campaign. Aid organizations and international observers have renewed urgent calls for a ceasefire and humanitarian access. (ILKHA)