The IDF intensified airstrikes across the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday and into Friday, hitting targets primarily in the north as tensions rose amid a deadlock in ceasefire negotiations.
The military said the strikes targeted Hamas infrastructure, while Palestinian media reported that more than 100 people were killed or remain missing following the attacks. On Thursday, Israeli forces also struck Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where local sources said at least 50 people were killed.
IDF strikes on northern Gaza
(Video: Reuters)
The latest wave of airstrikes marks an escalation in military activity since a Tuesday strike on Mohammed Sinwar, the head of Hamas' military wing and brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October. Sinwar's condition remains unknown.
Israeli officials have described the recent strikes as preparation for a potential expanded ground operation in Gaza should ongoing ceasefire talks fail to produce a breakthrough.
In Doha, Israeli negotiators met this week with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, as well as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli officials said Thursday there had been no significant progress in the talks. Despite the impasse, the Israeli delegation remained in Qatar on Friday awaiting further instructions from Jerusalem.
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Hamas rejected a proposal backed by the U.S. that would have secured the release of half of the remaining living hostages on the first day of a ceasefire, followed by negotiations to end the war. Israel, however, has maintained it will not agree to end the war without Hamas’ surrender and the return of all 58 hostages, both living and deceased.
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US special envoy Steve Witkoff (right) with freed hostage Edan Alexander (second from right) and his family
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of those held in Gaza, expressed growing alarm on Friday, warning that Israel was “hours away from the missed opportunity of the century.” The group cautioned that without a deal, Israel could face prolonged entanglement in Gaza and increased international isolation.
“Time is running out. The world is watching. History will remember,” the group said in a statement, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump to secure an agreement.