At least 50 people killed in overnight Israeli air strikes across Gaza, hospital officials say

At least 50 people have been killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Gaza, hospital officials have said, a day after senior government officials said Israel would seize large areas of the Strip to establish a new security corridor.

Officials in the southern city of Khan Younis said bodies had been taken to Nasser Hospital, and five children were among the dead.

The bodies of another 19 people, including five children and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near the city, medics said.

And in Gaza City, seven children were among the bodies accepted by the Ahli Hospital.

The Israeli military (IDF) ordered residents in several areas to evacuate on Thursday, adding that the army “will work with extreme force in your area”.

It said people should move to shelters west of Gaza City.

Israel has vowed to continue the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory.

Israel has imposed a month-long halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid, which has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel was establishing a new security corridor across Gaza, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered be evacuated, from the rest of the enclave.

Netanyahu referred to the new axis as the Morag Corridor, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities.

He said it would be “a second Philadelphi Corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, which has been under Israeli control since last May.

Israel has also retaken control over the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts off the northern third of Gaza from the rest of the Strip.

Both of the existing corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.

“We are cutting up the strip and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they (Hamas) will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah, the rivals of Hamas, expressed its “complete rejection” of the planned corridor.

Its statement also called for Hamas to give up power in Gaza, where the militant group has faced rare public protests recently.

Netanyahu’s announcement came after Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones, apparently referring to an existing buffer zone along Gaza’s entire perimeter.

He called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all the hostages,” saying “this is the only way to end the war.”

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

The war has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.