Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least least 27 Palestinians
The strikes came a day before a border crossing is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city.
Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 27 Palestinians early on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since an October agreement aimed at stopping the fighting.
Listen to this article
The strikes hit northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Younis, officials at the Nasser and Shifa Hospitals said.
Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City strike killed a mother, three children and one of their relatives on Saturday morning.
Nasser Hospital said a strike in a tent camp caused a fire to break out, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren.
The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that a number of strikes were carried out in response to what it called 'a Hamas violation' of the agreement on Friday.
The strikes came a day before a border crossing is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city.
Read more: Israel to reopen Gaza–Egypt Rafah crossing after nearly two years of closure
Israel has said it will reopen Gaza's border crossing with Egypt in both directions over the weekend, allowing Palestinians to enter and leave the territory after nearly two years of closure.
Cogat, the Israeli military body in charge of co-ordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement on Friday that "limited movement of people only" would be allowed.
The announcement followed statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Shaath, newly appointed to head the Palestinian administrative committee governing Gaza's daily affairs, that it would likely open soon.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing on Sunday will mark an important step forward for US President Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan.
The crossing, Gaza's main gateway to the outside world, has been largely closed since May 2024.
While Cogat said the passage will open in both directions on Sunday, Mr Shaath said the first day will be a trial for operations and that travel both ways will start on Monday.
Cogat said both Israel and Egypt will vet individuals for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents.
In addition to screenings at the crossing, Palestinians leaving and returning will be screened by Israel in the adjacent corridor, which remains under Israeli military control.
The crossing has been under a near complete closure since Israel seized it in May 2024, saying the step was part of a strategy to halt cross-border arms smuggling by Hamas.
It was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a short-lived ceasefire in early 2025.
Israel had resisted reopening the crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Monday cleared the way to move forward.
A day later, Mr Netanyahu said the crossing would soon open in a limited and controlled fashion.