Deaths in Israeli Strikes on Gaza: Hamas Warns of "Spark of War"

The Civil Defense announced the killing of 27 Palestinians in Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday across the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, where Israel said it was bombing Hamas targets after gunmen opened fire toward an area where its forces were operating in the southern sector.

Casualty Toll and Strike Details

• Total Toll: Civil Defense Spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal confirmed to Agence France-Presse that 27 people were killed in the occupation's shelling of the Gaza Strip today, including 14 fatalities in Gaza City.

• Gaza City Casualties: 12 citizens were killed, including 3 women and 6 children, as a result of an Israeli bombing in the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Two others were killed in raids on the Shujaiya neighborhood.

• Khan Younis Casualties: Bassal added that 13 people were killed, including 4 children and 4 women, and dozens wounded in the occupation's shelling of the city of Khan Younis in the south of the Strip. Two hospitals confirmed this toll to AFP.

Israeli Justification and Hamas Warning

• Israeli Army Position: The Israeli army announced it began bombing Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip after saying that gunmen opened fire toward an area where its forces were operating in Khan Younis, calling it a "breach of the ceasefire agreement," though no injuries were reported among its troops.

• Hamas Reaction: The Hamas movement condemned the Israeli shelling and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to resume the war. In a statement, it said it "strongly condemns the horrific massacre committed by the occupation in Gaza City and Khan Younis today, which resulted in the martyrdom of more than 25 of our Palestinian people, including children and women, and we consider it a dangerous escalation through which the war criminal Netanyahu seeks to resume the genocide against our people."