Israeli strikes kill at least 64 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit
Published: 16 May. 2025, 20:32
![Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza strip, on May 16. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/16/d4930651-a898-439f-aedf-205113b3eeb0.jpg)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza strip, on May 16. [AP/YONHAP]
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday killed at least 64 people, hospitals said, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit that skipped Israel and offered no prospect of a cease-fire in the war-battered territory.
At least 48 bodies were brought to an Indonesian hospital, and another 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, health officials said, as strikes overnight into Friday morning hit the outskirts of central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah area and the city of Khan Younis.
The widespread attacks across come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf States but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that his regional trip could usher in a cease-fire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes, which lasted hours into Friday morning and sent people fleeing from Jabalia and the town of Beit Lahiya. They followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in the Israel-Hamas war to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas, which governs Gaza.
![Palestinians mourn children from their families who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/16/999d6c63-5b8a-4780-8413-3bf837a3c2a7.jpg)
Palestinians mourn children from their families who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14. [AP/YONHAP]
In comments Netanyahu’s office released Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission … It means destroying Hamas.”
It was unclear if Friday’s bombardment was the start of the operation.
An Israeli official said cabinet members were meeting Friday to assess the negotiations in Qatar, where cease-fire negotiations are taking place, and to decide on next steps. The official was not authorized to brief media on the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.
![Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military airstrike that hit a U.N. school, during a funeral in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/16/581d8188-1acc-442f-9877-540af8b17a50.jpg)
Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military airstrike that hit a U.N. school, during a funeral in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“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.
The war began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in an Oct. 7, 2023, intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which did not say how many were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a cease-fire on March 18, the ministry said.
![Palestinians inspect the damage at a U.N. school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit by Israeli military strikes, killing more than 15 people, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/16/2faae4d3-47cf-4ced-886b-8c567626fce0.jpg)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a U.N. school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit by Israeli military strikes, killing more than 15 people, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]
Hamas still holds 58 of the roughly 250 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with 23 believed to still be alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three.
The attacks come as Israel enters its third month of blockading Gaza, 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 and that it won’t allow aid back in until a system is in place that gives it control over distribution.
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 United Nations, have said the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won't be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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