The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that 33 martyrs and 94 wounded had arrived at hospitals in the Strip within 24 hours, bringing the death toll from the Israeli genocide since March 18 to 2,749 martyrs and 7,607 wounded, and 52,862 martyrs and 119,648 wounded since October 7, 2023.
Medical sources announced that the death toll from the Israeli occupation's bombing of a school housing displaced persons early Monday morning has risen to 16, in addition to a number of wounded. The medical sources added that five children were among the martyrs, after Israeli warplanes targeted the second floor of the Fatima Bint Asad School, which houses displaced persons in Jabalia al-Balad, north of the Gaza Strip.
A number of civilians were killed and others injured after Israeli aircraft bombed a house near the Hamad al-Hasanat Mosque, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli army also blew up several houses in the eastern areas of the al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City.
A Palestinian was killed and others, including children, were injured in an Israeli attack that targeted a gathering of civilians in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, west of Gaza City. A father and his daughter were also killed in an Israeli artillery attack that targeted a house in the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City. Palestinians carried the bodies of the two martyrs from the Arab Baptist Hospital in the city.
The Israeli occupation army also launched a series of extremely violent airstrikes, coinciding with massive house demolitions in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a related development, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that the lives of 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip are at stake, calling for an end to the food blockade that has been ongoing for nine weeks. The UN office confirmed that its stocks are nearly depleted as the comprehensive blockade on Gaza enters its third month.
For its part, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) stated that more than nine weeks have passed since the blockade of Gaza began, noting that the longer the blockade continues, the greater the irreparable damage to the lives of countless people.
Gaza skies without Israeli aircraft
Meanwhile, Israeli Air Force aircraft disappeared from the skies over the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, for the first time since the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in late February 2025. This occurred hours after Hamas announced its intention to release Israeli soldier Idan Alexander, who holds American citizenship.
For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip issued instructions to cease fire at approximately 12 noon local time (9:00 GMT) and to establish a "safe corridor" for the release of soldier Idan Alexander.
This development comes hours after Hamas announced Sunday evening its intention to release Israeli soldier Idan Alexander, a US citizen, following contacts with the US administration over the past few days as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.
US President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that Private Alexander would soon be reunited with his family, expressing his gratitude to everyone who contributed to this "important development."
Trump described Hamas's decision to release Alexander as a "goodwill gesture" in response to the efforts of his country and mediators Qatar and Egypt. He also expressed hope that this development would be one of the first steps necessary to end the conflict.
Following Hamas' announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office claimed that the United States had informed Tel Aviv of Hamas's intention to release soldier Alexander.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement: "The United States informed Israel of Hamas's intention to release soldier Idan Alexander as a gesture of goodwill toward the Americans, without any compensation or conditions," it claimed.
Qatar and Egypt welcomed Hamas' announcement on Sunday evening that it intends to release Israeli-American soldier Idan Alexander, who has been held captive in the Gaza Strip.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 172,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 59 Israeli detainees in Gaza, 21 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 9,900 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.