The Israeli military has escalated its aerial bombardment campaign in the Gaza Strip, conducting a series of aggressive airstrikes over the Jewish weekend from Friday evening to Saturday evening. According to official military sources, approximately 150 targeted attacks were launched during this crucial period, aimed at what they described as terrorists and terror infrastructure. This latest round of strikes is part of a broader offensive that has seen a staggering total of 300 targets engaged in the past week alone as part of the military's ongoing efforts against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Since hostilities resumed on March 18, the Israeli air force has reported that it has struck over 1,400 targets in Gaza, reflecting the intensity and scale of the military operations currently unfolding in the region. The Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal enclave, is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, many of whom are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict.

As part of the ground operations, Israeli troops reportedly destroyed a lengthy tunnel situated in the southern area near Rafah, which was purportedly rigged with booby traps, indicative of the underground warfare tactics employed by Hamas. The military claims that as a result of these operations, 40 Hamas fighters lost their lives and a number of weapons and vehicles belonging to the militant group were seized. However, it is important to note that these claims have not been independently verified, raising questions about the accuracy of the information being disseminated.

The Israeli military has a history of not publicly disclosing details regarding civilian casualties arising from its airstrikes, leading to a lack of transparency during such operations. Meanwhile, Palestinian sources are providing different figures regarding the human toll of the conflict. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Saturday afternoon that, according to the health authority controlled by Hamas, 92 Palestinians were killed and 219 others injured within just the last 24 hours as a result of the ongoing hostilities.

With the death toll continuing to rise, reports indicate that a total of 51,157 Palestinians have been killed since the onset of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023. Notably, these figures do not make a distinction between combatants and civilians, which complicates the understanding of the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.

The current escalation of violence was triggered by one of the deadliest attacks in Israel's history, orchestrated by Hamas along with other extremist Palestinian factions in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 individuals on the Israeli side. This tragic event marked a significant turning point in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leading to widespread violence and retaliation.