At least 107 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza

Euronews

23-05-2025

Israel went ahead on Thursday with its new military offensive in Gaza despite mounting international criticism. Health officials in Gaza as well as hospital staff say airstrikes were launched across the enclave, killing at least 107 Palestinians and injuring close to 250 more.
Large plumes of smoke were seen rising in the eastern regions of Gaza City – located in the north of the Strip – as the bombardment continued. A hospital in northern Gaza was also heavily targeted according to hospital officials.
Videos circulating on social media show Israeli tanks and drones reportedly attacking the Al-Awda hospital causing extensive damage and setting portions of the hospital ablaze. Footage released by a staff member at the hospital showed walls blown away and thick black smoke rising above a structure reduced to rubble.
The Israeli military said its forces were operating 'adjacent' to Al-Awda Hospital and had allowed emergency workers to come try to put out a fire at the hospital. They denied responsibility for the attack, instead saying 'the circumstances of the fire are still under review.'
Israeli forces also targeted the hospital's water tanks and set fire to outpatient clinics, according to Raafat Ali al-Majdalawi, director of the Al-Awda Health and Community Association.
Al-Awda hospital was one of the only two remaining hospitals in the north of the enclave. It's not immediately clear how many were injured or killed in those strikes.
Israel carried out strikes on multiple areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday, some far from the border, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.
It described the strikes as 'the most violent in some areas' since a ceasefire deal ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Residents of northern Israel also reported hearing loud explosions from across the border.
The Israeli army issued warning notices ahead of one strike that destroyed a building in the town of Toul, which it says were facilities belonging to Hezbollah.
Videos of the strike's aftermath showed fire and a massive cloud of smoke rising over an area packed with multi-story apartment buildings. Strikes in other areas were carried out without warning. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel has struck Lebanon almost every day since the ceasefire. Lebanon says those strikes are in violation of the truce agreement, while Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah to prevent it from re-arming.
The wave of airstrikes came two days before local elections are slated to take place in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the attacks will not 'deter the state from its commitment to the electoral process,' and called on the international community to exert more pressure on Israel to stop cross-border attacks and violations of the ceasefire.
The UN says some 90 trucks carrying aid have arrived in Gaza and their contents distributed to the desperately needing population. It's around half of the almost 200 trucks that have entered the enclave since Israel ended its nearly three-month blockade of the Strip, which have yet to reach Palestinians.
'The shipments from yesterday is limited in quantity and nowhere near sufficient to meet the scale and scope of Gaza's 2.1 million people," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
During the latest ceasefire, 600 trucks were crossing into Gaza daily carrying food, fuel, crucial aid and medical supplies.
The Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to Gaza, COGAT, said on Thursday however that there are no food shortages in Gaza.
'According to our current assessment, there is no food shortage in Gaza at this time,' COGAT said in a statement on X.
International humanitarian organisations reject this statement, with many calling the aid arriving in Gaza at the moment as a 'drop in the ocean' of what's needed to satisfy the needs of residents.
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed the flow of aid at 'minimal' levels in order to preserve US and allies' support as international criticism on his government's conduct of war mounted.
In a televised press conference on Wednesday, the Israeli leader noted that his government's war on the enclave will not end until Israel achieves all of its military objectives.
The Israeli premier said he was open to another temporary truce to release the remaining hostages, but stressed the ultimately, the war will resume.
Netanyahu emphasised that fighting will only cease after Hamas releases all the remaining hostages, steps down from power, dismantles, disarms and leaves Gaza.
He also announced that long-term plans include the implementation of US President Donald Trump's controversial post-war plan to relocate the territory's 2.1 million population to neighbouring countries. Trump also said that the US would then 'take ownership' of Gaza.
The Palestinians, along with nearly all of the international community, have rejected Trump's proposal to empty Gaza of its Palestinian population and place the territory under Washington's control.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 58, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
A subsequent Israeli offensive has to date killed more than 53,762 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
As the African Union and European Union foreign ministers pledge to boost cooperation on peace, security and the economy, Botswana has called for Brussels to lead more strategic investments in the country.
Speaking to Euronews, Botswana's foreign minister, Phenyo Butale, said his country is open for business. Butale, who participated in the third EU-AU ministerial meeting in Brussels, said that although Botswana has enjoyed solid relations with the EU, there is an opportunity to deepen ties.
"There is room for us and Europe and Belgium to reimagine this relationship and ensure that we improve our trade and ensure that Botswana and Europe benefit mutually from this relationship," he said.
Butaye's call for more trade and investment with the EU comes amid a 37% trade tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Botswana, making it one of the hardest-hit nations in Africa.
The country's economy, which is heavily reliant on the exports of diamonds, contracted last year by 3.1% from a weak global demand for the gem.
Lauded for decades as the world's fastest-growing economy, Botswana's diamond exports are second only to Russia. However, the southern African nation's gemstones are typically larger and considered of greater value.
This year's economic forecast suggests a 3.3% growth based on an expected recovery in the global diamond market and "continued positive sentiment in the non-diamond mining sectors," according to a budget speech made by the Finance Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, in February.
That optimism is now being questioned as fears of a disruption to global trade supply chains sparked by the Trump administration's trade tariff war pose long-term implications for exporters looking to diversify markets beyond traditional partners.
According to Butale, relations with the US, which he describes as a key ally, will remain excellent.
"We are engaged with the government of the US through bilateral and diplomatic channels. We have an excellent relationship with the US and believe this relationship, which has existed for years, will be able to ensure an amicable and mutually beneficial solution for both countries."
Botswana's total exports in 2023 amounted to around €5.4 billion and although less than 2% of that went to the US, much of it was carried out within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme that provides duty-free access to the US market for most exports from eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
That trade pact is scheduled to expire this September, marking a key decision point for the programme's future.
In contrast, the EU is Botswana's second largest trading partner after South Africa.
According to the European Commission report on Botswana, the 27-nation bloc maintains long-standing economic and trade relations with Gaborone.
The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has been the foundation of this solid trade and investment relationship since its start of implementation in 2016, the EU Commission says.
Focusing on the areas of green transformation, economic diversification and job creation, the EU allocated €24 million in bilateral funding to its partnership with Botswana, for the period 2021-2027.
The European Union stated its support for Botswana's efforts to develop and strengthen eco-tourism and horticulture value chains, transition to more sustainable energy sources and advance the country's digital agenda.
Butale on Thursday lauded this cooperation and urged for more mutually beneficial investment.
"There are a lot of opportunities in the mineral sector. Right now, there is a rush for rare earth minerals and there are opportunities in that space," he said.
Last year, Botswana witnessed a historic and peaceful transfer of power, marking a significant shift after the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost to the opposition, a change many analysts have attributed to a desire for transformation among voters, who were seeking solutions to economic challenges and job creation.