GAZA — A sense of overwhelming grief blankets the Gaza Strip today as at least 60 lives were lost in a series of Israeli airstrikes, with most of the victims being women, children, and entire families sheltering in homes and tents in Khan Younis, according to Palestinian medics.
Among the dead was journalist Hassan Samour, known for his work with the Hamas-run Aqsa radio station. Hassan was killed along with 11 of his family members when their home was struck in one of the deadliest assaults in recent weeks.
There has been no immediate statement from the Israeli military, which continues to ramp up its campaign in Gaza, aiming to eliminate Hamas in retaliation for the October 2023 attacks that killed over a thousand Israelis and left hundreds taken hostage.
The strikes come on a symbolic and painful day for Palestinians — Nakba Day — which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands in 1948 during the creation of the state of Israel. For many in Gaza, today’s suffering feels like a cruel echo of that historical trauma — only worse.
“We have lost everything,” said Ahmed Hamad, a displaced father of four now living in a makeshift shelter in Gaza City. “What we are experiencing now is even worse than the Nakba of 1948. Wherever we go, we face attacks. Death surrounds us.”
Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, the majority of whom have already been displaced multiple times since the conflict began, now faces even more uncertainty. Airstrikes on Wednesday claimed 80 more lives, bringing the death toll since October to over 52,900, according to health officials.
US President Donald Trump is visiting the Middle East this week, prompting hopes of renewed diplomatic pressure. However, efforts at a ceasefire led by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have yet to produce results.
Hamas has offered to release all remaining hostages in return for a permanent end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, insists on only temporary truces, maintaining that the conflict must continue until Hamas is eradicated.
Meanwhile, Gaza teeters on the edge of famine. With no humanitarian aid entering since March 2, and hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation, relief organizations are urging immediate action.
A US-backed aid group is expected to begin operations by the end of May — but for many families, that may come too late.
For now, Gaza mourns its dead — mothers, fathers, children — whose lives were ended not on battlefields, but inside their homes.
