Overnight airstrikes in Gaza city leave 54 people dead, hospital says

Overnight into Thursday, May 15, 2025, witnessed a  series of Israeli airstrikes hitting the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis , killing over 50 people in a second night of intense bombardment.

Simultaneously, another strike in northern Gaza resulted in more than a dozen fatalities, according to local authorities.

These deadly assaults occurred as U.S. President Donald Trump traveled through the Middle East, visiting Gulf nations but skipping Israel.

Many had hoped his trip might lead to a ceasefire or renewed humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which has been under a strict Israeli blockade for three months.

An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis documented 10 separate strikes in the city overnight.

He also witnessed bodies being transported to Nasser Hospital’s morgue.

Identification of the dead was delayed due to the severity of injuries.

The morgue confirmed a death toll of 54.

Among the deceased was journalist Hasan Samour, who worked for the Qatari broadcaster Al Araby TV.

The network reported that he and 11 family members were killed in one of the airstrikes.

This marked the second consecutive night of widespread bombing.

The previous night, airstrikes in both northern and southern Gaza had already killed at least 70 people, including nearly two dozen children.

In northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, a strike hit a complex housing a mosque and a small clinic, killing 13 people.

The report was according to the Civil Defense agency, which operates under Gaza’s Hamas-led administration.

The humanitarian toll was visible at Nasser Hospital, where Safaa Al-Najjar, bloodied and grieving, mourned her two young sons—1.5-year-old Motaz and 1.5-month-old Moaz—who were killed in the strikes.

Her five other children, aged 3 to 12, sustained injuries, and her husband remained in intensive care.

Her 11-year-old son, Yusuf, screamed in agony as he recognized his younger brother’s body.

“I gave them dinner and put them to bed as usual,” Al-Najjar said, struggling through tears.

“Then everything changed. What did they do to deserve this?”

Outside the hospital, mourners gathered for prayers beside rows of white body bags.

The bodies were then transported for burial.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to intensify military operations in Gaza, aiming to eliminate Hamas.

Earlier in the week, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying Israeli forces would soon enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission…to destroy Hamas.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) responded on Thursday, warning that Israel’s actions and rhetoric are edging dangerously close to extermination.

It also urged the international community to intervene.

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.

In retaliation, Israel launched an extensive military campaign that, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, has killed over 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children.

The ministry said nearly 3,000 of those deaths occurred after Israel ended a ceasefire on March 18.

On Thursday, the ministry reported that hospitals had received 82 bodies in the previous 24 hours, including the 54 from Khan Younis.

The total number of wounded stood at nearly 120,000.

Hamas continues to hold 58 of the roughly 250 hostages taken during the October 7 attack, with 23 believed to be alive.

However, Israeli officials have expressed concern for the fate of three of them.

The Health Ministry also confirmed that the European Hospital in Khan Younis, the only facility in Gaza offering cancer treatments, was shut down after suffering major damage from Israeli airstrikes.

The hospital also handled cardiac surgeries and other critical care.

On Tuesday, Israel bombed the hospital twice, claiming it was targeting a Hamas command center beneath the facility.

Six people were killed.

The hospital’s 200 patients were evacuated by Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s population is grappling with extreme food shortages.

On Thursday, displaced residents in Beit Lahia crowded around a makeshift charity kitchen hoping to receive vegetable soup.

Um Abed, sheltering with 20 relatives, waited from morning until night without getting any food for a second consecutive day.

“My 3-year-old is crying constantly from hunger,” she said, begging for the war to end and for food to be allowed in.

Israel halted all aid, including food and medicine, on March 2. Experts now warn of impending famine, with nearly half a million Palestinians at risk of starvation and another million barely surviving.

Israeli spokesperson David Mencer denied any food shortage, blaming Hamas for hoarding aid.

However, HRW accused Israel of systematically destroying civilian infrastructure and warned that these actions require intervention under the Genocide Convention.

The group also urged Hamas to release its remaining hostages. Israel has categorically denied any accusations of genocide.

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