Israeli strikes kill at least 82 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his
Middle East visit
[May 16, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and BASSEM MROUE
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 82 people were killed by
Israeli strikes in Gaza on Friday, as U.S. President Donald Trump
wrapped up his regional trip.
Strikes overnight and into Friday hit across Gaza, including the
outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. At least 66
people were killed according to the Indonesian hospital, where most of
the bodies were taken. A further 16 bodies were taken to Nasser
hospital, said health officials.
The widespread attacks across come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf
states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that his regional
trip could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to
Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
Speaking to reporters at a business forum in Abu Dhabi on the final day
of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global
crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got
to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people
are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
Israel said Friday it was continuing its operations against militants in
Gaza and that it struck 150 targets in the past day, including anti-tank
missile posts and military structures. In northern Gaza, it eliminated
several militants who were operating in an observation compound, it
said.
The strikes lasted for hours into Friday morning and sent people fleeing
from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. They
followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people,
according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
After the strikes, dark smoke was seen rising over Jabaliya as people
grabbed what they could of their belongings and fled on donkey carts, by
car and foot.
“The army entered upon us, bombing, killing. ... We got out of the house
with difficulty, killing and death, we did not take anything,” said
Feisal Al-Attar, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya.
Netanyahu vows to step up war
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to
push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel’s war in the
Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group,
which governs Gaza.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the prime minister
said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great
strength to complete the mission ... It means destroying Hamas.”
An Israeli official said the strikes on Friday were preparatory actions
in the lead-up to a larger operation and to send a message to Hamas that
it will begin soon if there isn’t an agreement to release hostages. The
official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of
anonymity
The same official said that Cabinet members were meeting Friday to
assess the negotiations in Qatar, where ceasefire talks are taking
place, and to decide on next steps.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told The Associated Press on
Friday that Israel’s military is intensifying its operations as it has
done since Hamas stopped releasing hostages. “Our objective is to get
them home and get Hamas to relinquish power,” he said. He said Israel
will continue pressuring Hamas while negotiating, saying that it's
getting results.
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Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli
military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern
Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy
hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to
“join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages
home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy
forever,” the families said in a statement released by the hostage
forum, which supports them.
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy
hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to
“join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages
home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy
forever," the families said in a statement released by the hostage
forum, which supports them.
The war began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in an
Oct. 7, 2023, intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory
offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them
women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does
not say how many were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed
since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Hamas still holds 58 of the roughly 250 hostages it took during its
Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with 23 believed to still be alive,
although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status
of three of those.
Gaza blockade enters third month
The attacks come as Israel enters its third month of blockading
Gaza, preventing food, fuel medicine and all other supplies from
entering, worsening a humanitarian crisis. Israel says the blockade
aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds and
that it won’t allow aid S
Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S.
backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin
operations before the end of the month — after what it describes as
key agreements from Israeli officials.
A statement from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,
identified several U.S. military veterans, former humanitarian
coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the
delivery effort.
Many in the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said the
system does not align with humanitarian principles and won't be able
to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and won't participate it.
——
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg
and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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