Residences, camps and police stations were targeted. Three children died.
An Israeli air strike left 32 people dead this Saturday (31/01) in the Gaza Strip, including three children, according to Palestinian authorities. The bombing is one of the most intense since the beginning of the ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas.
According to the Israeli Army, the airstrike targeted commanders, weapons depots and manufacturing centers belonging to Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad. Warplanes bombed a police station and homes on the outskirts of Gaza City. A camp housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis was also hit.
Videos of the incident show a destroyed apartment in a multi-story building, with debris scattered across the street. Samer al-Atbash said the bodies of his three young nieces were found in the street.
“They talk about ‘ceasefire’ and everything. What did those kids do? What did we do?” he said.
Israel argues that the action responds to a violation of the truce that occurred the previous day, when its troops identified eight armed men leaving a tunnel in Rafah, an area in southern Gaza controlled by Israeli forces. In the confrontation, three men were killed and a fourth was arrested. Dozens of fighters remain trapped in tunnels since the ceasefire.
Israel prepares opening of Rafah crossing
Hamas claims that the ceasefire was violated by Israel. The group did not say whether any of its members or facilities were hit in Saturday’s attacks. The conflict began after his men attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Since the start of the truce, Israeli gunfire has killed more than 500 people — most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials — and Palestinian militants have killed four Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli officials.
While the two sides exchange accusations of violations, Washington is pressing to advance to the next phases of the agreement. The plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
Hamas seeks to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into the new US-backed Palestinian administration in Gaza, a demand that is likely to face resistance from Israel.
On Sunday, Israel is expected to reopen the Rafah crossing, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, as part of the plan to end the war.
Egypt condemned the attacks and demanded that all parties “exercise maximum restraint” before reopening the Rafah crossing; Qatar repudiated “repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire”.
Attack left three children dead | Omar Al-qattaa/AFP
Israel reportedly accepted Hamas death count
According to Israeli media reports, Israel has accepted for the first time the calculation made by the Gaza Ministry of Health of the total number of deaths in the conflict.
Palestinian authorities estimate that 71,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in October 2023.
Palestinian death tolls do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. People still buried under rubble or who died due to the indirect effects of war, such as disease or starvation, are not counted.
Israel has always disputed this projection, although it is considered credible by organizations such as the UN. The Israeli Army claims that the numbers are manipulated by Hamas.
The Israeli website Ynet and other important outlets, such as the newspaper Haaretz, reported the Israeli admission of the Palestinian death toll during a briefing.
According to Ynet, a government official stated that, in his estimate, “around 70,000 Gazans were killed during the war, not including the missing.”
“We are currently doing the work of distinguishing between terrorists and people who were not involved,” the official was quoted as saying, as the government promised to analyze the data.
But the Israeli army has not publicly confirmed the reports. The international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, stated on X that the numbers still “do not reflect official data”.
“Any publication or report on this matter will be disseminated through official and formal channels,” Shoshani wrote.
Originally published by DW on 01/31/2026
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2026/01/31/ataque-israelense-mata-32-em-gaza-em-meio-ao-cessar-fogo/
