Hamas claims at least 48 deaths in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes on a school, market, and restaurant

 Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on May 7, 2025, have left at least 48 Palestinians dead, according to Hamas-run health authorities. The series of strikes reportedly hit a school sheltering displaced families and a restaurant in Gaza City, sparking outrage and calls for further investigation.

Early in the day, two IDF airstrikes targeted Karama School in Tuffah, a suburb of Gaza City. The school, housing displaced families, was hit, and 15 people were killed, including journalist Nour Abdu, according to Palestinian media. The attacks on civilians, including families seeking refuge, have drawn international condemnation.

Later, another airstrike targeted a restaurant and nearby market in Gaza City, killing at least 33 people, including women and children. Footage from the scene showed ambulances rushing to the site, with the injured being carried away in makeshift transports. A poignant image captured the bodies of a mother, father, and young son lying in pools of blood on the street. The young boy was still clutching a pink backpack. The Hamas health ministry has claimed responsibility for providing the death toll, though the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have not commented on the casualties.

The IDF generally asserts that its operations target Hamas terrorist infrastructure, which is often embedded in civilian areas, though critics argue that these airstrikes disproportionately affect civilians. The Gaza health ministry, under Hamas, cannot independently verify whether those killed were combatants or civilians.

Witnesses like Ahmed Al-Saoudi, who was near the market at the time of the attack, described the scene as chaotic. “People came to the market to get what they could find… neither the people nor the animals were safe,” he said. In Gaza, where over 52,500 Palestinians have died since the start of the war in October 2023, tensions are higher than ever, and any new escalation is met with increasing international scrutiny.

On the Israeli side, the Golani Brigade reported that one of its soldiers was seriously wounded in a confrontation in the southern Gaza Strip, near Rafah. Two other soldiers sustained moderate injuries, with the military confirming that the incident was caused by an explosive device. These injuries bring the Israeli death toll to 414, as the ongoing ground operation against Hamas continues.

The war, ignited by Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel, has caused devastating casualties on both sides. Since the attack, Israel claims to have killed 20,000 combatants in Gaza, with 1,600 terrorists also killed inside Israel during the initial Hamas onslaught. However, the Palestinian death toll reported by Hamas, which includes civilians and fighters alike, continues to rise daily. The Israeli Defence Forces also state that some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, including 35 believed dead, along with the remains of a soldier killed in the Strip in 2014.

As the conflict intensifies, the toll on civilians, particularly in Gaza, remains a global concern. The ongoing humanitarian crisis, with disrupted medical care, destroyed homes, and rising casualties, has drawn calls for a ceasefire and greater international intervention. However, Hamas’s statements suggest they will not back down from their confrontation with Israel, and the IDF remains focused on neutralising Hamas forces embedded within the civilian population.