April 19, 2025 | 12:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As many as 58 Palestinians in Gaza were killed in Israeli strikes as Christians mark Good Friday in the besieged and bombarded enclave. This adds to over 1,600 deaths since Israel escalated air strikes on March 18.
More than half of the casualties were in Gaza City and northern Gaza, but deadly strikes occurred across the Palestinian territories, including in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, medical sources told Al Jazeera on Friday.
The Israeli military said its forces were operating in the Shaboura and Tal as-Sultan areas near Rafah, as well as in northern Gaza, where Israel has seized much of the territory east of Gaza City.
As reported by Arab News, the attack came hours after Hamas rejected Israel's ceasefire offer, stating that Israel's terms did not meet their demand for a full cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the failed January ceasefire deal, when Israel resumed air strikes and sent ground forces back into Gaza. However, there are no signs that the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.
Thursday night, Khalil Al-Hayya, the Hamas chief in Gaza, said the movement was willing to exchange all 59 remaining hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel in exchange for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
But he dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Last month, the Israeli military halted a two-month ceasefire that largely halted fighting in Gaza. Since then, the Israeli military has advanced from the north and south, seizing nearly a third of the enclave as it has sought to pressure Hamas to agree to release hostages and disarm.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would make a special statement Saturday night but did not provide details on what would be conveyed.
Nevertheless, Palestinian Christians in Gaza continued to hold peaceful meetings ahead of Easter amid the attacks.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from a local church, Ihab Ayyad said that he used to gather with other congregants and visit his neighbors' homes every year to celebrate.
“This year, we didn’t make the visits because of the total destruction everywhere, as the [Israeli] occupation forces have levelled most of the houses of my relatives and my neighbors,” Ayyad said. “A lot of my relatives and neighbors were martyred or displaced in different places. We haven’t celebrated because we feel very sad.”
Ramez al-Soury said he used to travel out of Gaza to Bethlehem or Jerusalem for the holy week.
But now, an “atmosphere of war” permeates Gaza. “The death smell is everywhere. The smell of killing and destruction is putting a lot of pressure on us,” he said.
Violence in the Occupied West Bank
Rituals to mark Good Friday and Easter were also held in the occupied West Bank.
There are around 50,000 Palestinian Christians in the region. However, Israeli authorities require them to obtain permits to travel to Jerusalem, making it difficult for many to participate in the celebrations.
Additionally, Israeli settlers and the military also attacked Palestinians in their land in Biddya, in the Salfit governorate of the occupied West Bank, according to Al Jazeera Arabic on Friday, tempering the celebrations.
The Palestine Red Crescent said that a Palestinian was injured in the attack.
Local sources also told Al Jazeera Arabic that dozens of settlers had raided Jabal al-Urma, a hill in the town of Beita in the Nablus province, under the protection of the Israeli military.
Settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israeli military and settler violence has escalated across the West Bank - especially in the northern areas - since the genocide in Gaza began in October 2023. The United Nations said the violence has led to about 40,000 Palestinians being displaced since Israel launched a new military operation in the occupied West Bank in January.
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