The strikes across the Gaza Strip followed days of attacks there that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to the region that included stops in three Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hopes that Trump's trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal, or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months. The Trump administration is also trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, which backs several anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said 31 children and 27 women were killed in Friday’s airstrikes, and that hundreds more were wounded.
In southern Gaza, Israel struck the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. It said it hit anti-tank missile posts and military structures.
In northern Gaza, the attacks sent people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. Israel said it eliminated several militants who were operating in an observation compound.
Dark smoke was seen rising over Jabaliya as people grabbed what they could of their belongings and fled on donkey carts, by car and foot.
“We got out of the house with difficulty, killing and death, we did not take anything,” said Feisal Al-Attar, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya.
There were no immediate reports of casualties after the strikes on Yemen, which were acknowledged on the Houthis’ satellite channel. Israel’s military said that during Trump's visit to the region it had intercepted several missiles fired from Yemen toward Israeli airspace.
"There will be more to come,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Friday with top military officials overseeing the strikes.
Netanyahu vows to step up war
An Israeli official said the strikes in Gaza on Friday were preparatory actions in the lead-up to a larger operation and to send a message to Hamas that it will begin soon if there isn’t an agreement to release the 58 hostages still in Gaza since Hamas’ October 2023 attack that launched the war. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity
The same official said that Cabinet members were meeting Friday to assess progress in ceasefire talks, and to decide on next steps.
Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to escalate pressure on Hamas, with the aim of destroying the militant group that governs Gaza. In comments released by Netanyahu's office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza "with great strength to complete the mission ... It means destroying Hamas."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Friday that strikes in Gaza earlier in the week targeted a key Hamas leader in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, although there has been no word on whether he was hit. He is the brother of the slain former leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar — a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
‘Historic opportunity’
In Israel, families of hostages said they awoke Friday with “heavy hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to free hostages. On Monday, Israeli-American Edan Alexander was released after backdoor U.S.-Hamas diplomacy.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever,” the families said in a statement released by the hostage forum, which supports them.
In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants.
Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Of the hostages that remain in Gaza, Israel believes as many as 23 are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of those.
Gaza blockade enters third month
Dozens of Palestinians in Khan Younis lined up at a charity kitchen to obtain food Friday in a scene that quickly turned chaotic as the enclave entered its third month of Israel’s aid blockade.
Several children behind a metal partition screamed and cried out for food. At one point, the scene descended into chaos as charity kitchen workers struggled to push people back into line.
Some workers were attacked as the crowd surged forward, pressing against the partition and lunging toward the large pots of rice to grab whatever they could.
Israel's blockade is preventing food, fuel medicine and all other supplies from entering, worsening a humanitarian crisis. Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds.
“Our only hope was that Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East would result in solutions and somehow open crossings to bring in humanitarian assistance as soon as possible into the Gaza Strip, but the visit is almost over and not a drop of water or bread entered Gaza,” said Saqer Jamal, a displaced man from Rafah who was at the kitchen.
Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S. backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month — after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials.
A statement from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several U.S. military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort.
Many in the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won't be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and won't participate it.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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