Since early Friday morning, Israeli forces have launched a large-scale ground and air offensive on northern Gaza, including the city of Beit Lahia. Tanks advanced into civilian areas, with witnesses reporting shelling, smoke bombs, and armored vehicles surrounding shelters such as schools. The attack, described by residents as the most intense since March, resulted in the killing of 143 Palestinians in a single day, pushing the death toll to at least 53,100, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with Israel maintaining a full blockade for over two months, preventing food and aid from entering. While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the growing hunger crisis, he stopped short of condemning Israel, instead calling on Hamas to disarm. President Donald Trump admitted the people of Gaza are starving but provided no clear plan of U.S. intervention.
The violence has coincided with the 77th anniversary of Nakba Day—the day Palestinians commemorate the mass displacement of over 700,000 people during the 1948 creation of Israel. This year’s Nakba was marked by fresh tragedy, as at least 115 people were killed in Gaza on Thursday, adding to the growing sense of historical trauma.
Israeli attacks also continue in the West Bank, with growing fear among Palestinians that they are reliving another chapter of the Nakba. Entire families have been uprooted, homes destroyed, and civilians—many of them children—killed in strikes on clinics and refugee camps.
With more than 436,000 people displaced since March, the United Nations reports that nearly 70% of Gaza is now considered a no-go zone. The latest escalation follows Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed over 1,100 people and led to the ongoing Israeli military campaign aimed at eliminating Hamas.
Palestinians like Badria Mohareb, who was displaced in 1948 and now resides in Khan Younis, say this current war is the most devastating in memory. “People have been completely destroyed,” she said, mourning the loss of her two grandsons and home in the latest round of attacks.
