A Palestinian man looks at burnt out vehicles in the Barkan Industrial area, near Salfit in the occupied West Bank on May 16, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP)
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: Rescuers said Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 100 people on Friday.
In early March, shortly before the collapse of a two-month ceasefire in its war against Hamas, Israel reimposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip, where aid agencies have warned of critical shortages of everything from food and clean water to fuel and medicines.
US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that "a lot of people are starving" in the besieged Palestinian territory.
"We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of," Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi, on a regional tour.
On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 100 people on Friday.
Umm Mohammed al-Tatari, 57, told AFP that she was awoken by a pre-dawn attack.
"We were asleep when suddenly everything exploded around us," she said.
"Everyone started running. We saw the destruction with our own eyes. There was blood everywhere, body parts and corpses."
Ahmed Nasr, 33, also from northern Gaza, said: "There is no safety. We could die at any moment."
At the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over the bodies of their loved ones.
"They were innocent people," said Mayar Salem. "Only their remains are left... They were my sisters and daughters."
The health ministry in Gaza said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,119.
Israeli media reported that the military had stepped up its offensive in line with a plan approved by the government earlier this month, though there has not been any formal announcement of an expanded campaign.
The military said that its forces had "struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in 24 hours.
For weeks, UN agencies have warned of severe shortages in Gaza.
The 46-member Council of Europe said on Friday the territory was suffering from "deliberate starvation".
Seven European countries, including five that have recognised a Palestinian state -- Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Spain and Norway -- issued a joint statement condemning what they called "the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place" and calling on Israel to halt military operations and lift the blockade.
In a statement of its own, Hamas said it "highly values the humanitarian and courageous stance" adopted by the seven countries.
