GAZA(The COW News Digital) Heavy Israeli bombardment across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday killed 104 Palestinians, including 46 children, and injured 253 others, witnesses and local health officials said, plunging the territory deeper into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Hospitals across Gaza were overwhelmed as ambulances rushed the wounded into emergency wards and medical staff worked under siege conditions. Doctors and nurses, many of them exhausted and running short of supplies, described scenes of chaos: buildings reduced to rubble, families digging through debris for survivors, and the air thick with smoke and dust. Local media reported that entire residential blocks were hit during nighttime raids, leaving many victims trapped beneath collapsed structures.
In statements carried by regional news outlets, witnesses spoke of mothers’ screams and the cries of children echoing through devastated neighborhoods. Rescue teams struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas amid continuing strikes, while makeshift clinics strained to cope with the influx of casualties.
The violence added to Gaza’s mounting toll since the conflict escalated earlier in the year. Local authorities reported that the cumulative death toll in the Palestinian territories has risen to 68,643, with 170,655 people wounded, figures that underscore the scale of the conflict’s human cost and the mounting pressure on already fragile healthcare and shelter systems.
Amid the bombardment, political tensions remained high. U.S. President Donald Trump condemned militant attacks while warning that armed groups such as Hamas must change course, urging an end to what he described as “politicizing human suffering.” Hamas denied responsibility for some claimed attacks, and spokespeople warned that continued strikes would jeopardize the safety of hostages and complicate any prospects for a ceasefire.
International aid agencies warned that the civilian population faces a worsening crisis as winter approaches, with displaced families sheltering in tents and temporary camps ill-equipped for cold weather. Humanitarian workers appealed for secured corridors to deliver food, medicine and fuel, saying that the destruction of infrastructure and persistent insecurity were blocking lifesaving assistance.
Diplomats and analysts called for urgent international intervention to de-escalate the fighting and protect civilians. Efforts to arrange pauses in fighting for evacuations and aid deliveries have repeatedly faltered, and humanitarian organizations stressed that without sustained ceasefire measures, the civilian toll will continue to climb.
As Gaza reels from another day of mass casualties, residents and relief workers alike warned that the immediate priority must be humanitarian relief and a concrete plan to prevent further loss of civilian life.
