Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday (January 1) said that he would escalate strikes on Gaza if the Hamas militant group continues to launch rockets. Palestinian rescuers reported dozens of casualties from Israeli airstrikes on the first day of 2025.
Over the past week, Palestinian militants have persistently fired rockets toward Israel, particularly from northern Gaza, where the Israeli military is carrying out a significant offensive.
While the rocket attacks have caused minimal damage and are fewer in number compared to the war’s earlier stages, they pose a political challenge for the Israeli government after nearly 15 months of conflict.
“I want to send a clear message from here to the heads of the terrorists in Gaza: If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza and continues firing at Israeli communities, it will face blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Air Strike Kills At Least 26
At least 26 people were killed in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes, according to the enclave’s civil defense authorities and media reports. Meanwhile, Israel reported that two projectiles were launched from the Palestinian territory. The update came hours after Katz’s comment on intensified strikes in Gaza.
In Jabalia, northern Gaza, 15 people—most of them children—were killed in a strike targeting a house sheltering displaced individuals amid Israel’s ongoing military operation in the area since early October, civil defense officials stated. The attack also injured 20 others.
Separately, two individuals lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij camp in central Gaza, as reported by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Mounting Death Toll Amid Gaza Crisis
The death toll in Gaza since October 2023 has reached 45,553, with 108,379 others injured, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave on Wednesday.
Israel has continued its military campaign in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. International condemnation has mounted, with officials and institutions characterizing the attacks and blockade of aid as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Additionally, Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the ongoing conflict.
