At least 70 people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting homes in northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital in Jabaliya reported on Wednesday, 14 May. Among the dead were at least 22 children and 15 women, after strikes hit multiple homes in Jabaliya town and the adjacent refugee camp.
The Israeli military had previously urged residents of Jabaliya to evacuate late Tuesday, citing the presence of Hamas infrastructure, including rocket launchers, as a factor that could make the area a target.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled a hardening of Israel’s stance, ruling out any pause in the military campaign. Speaking on Tuesday, he declared there was “no way” Israel would stop its offensive in Gaza, further diminishing prospects for a ceasefire.
The airstrikes came just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump addressed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza during a summit with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Saudi Arabia. In his remarks, Trump expressed solidarity with regional calls for a future where Palestinians can live with “safety and dignity.”
The escalation also followed a powerful address to the UN Security Council by Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official. He warned of the risk of genocide in Gaza and urged immediate international action.
Fletcher also described a collapsing healthcare system, with the few hospitals still functioning overwhelmed by casualties and unable to contain rising levels of trauma and disease.
“I can tell you from having visited what’s left of Gaza’s medical system that death on this scale has a sound and a smell that does not leave you,” he said.
“As one hospital worker described it, ‘children scream as we peel burnt fabric from their skin.’”
Ceasefire talks are ongoing in Qatar. The negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, aim to broker a deal between the United States and Hamas that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza and pave the way for a wider ceasefire agreement.
The previous truce, which had held for two months, was unilaterally ended by Israel on 18 March, prompting a renewed military offensive and intensified bombardment of the territory.
Gaza’s healthcare system has been steadily decimated since October 2023. By early December 2024, only 17 of the territory’s 36 hospitals were still partially operational, while the remaining 19 had shut down entirely, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
More than 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed during the conflict, further crippling the system’s ability to function.
