Israel escalates Gaza strikes after medicine-for-aid deal

Fighting has ravaged Gaza since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel.

Israel stepped up strikes on the south of war-torn Gaza on Wednesday, ahead of the expected delivery of medicines for hostages in exchange for humanitarian aid under a newly brokered deal.

Air strikes and artillery fire targeted Khan Younis throughout the night in the southern Gaza Strip's biggest city.

"It was the most difficult and intense night in Khan Younis since the start of the war," said Gaza's Hamas government, whose health ministry reported 81 deaths across the Palestinian territory.

Fighting has ravaged Gaza since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel that resulted in the death of about 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

At least 24,448 Palestinians, about 70% of them women, young children and adolescents, have been killed in Israeli bombardments and ground assaults, according to the Gaza health ministry's latest figures.

Hamas and other militants seized about 250 hostages during the October 7 attacks, and around 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 27 believed to have been killed.

The fate of those still in captivity has gripped Israeli society, while a broader humanitarian crisis in Gaza marked by the threat of famine and disease has fuelled international calls for a ceasefire.