Airstrikes pound Gaza as Israel advances death penalty bill for prisoners
Shafaq News – Gaza
At least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday, according to medical sources cited by Palestinian outlets.
Strikes reportedly hit multiple areas, including Gaza City, Khan Younis, Wadi Gaza, and Deir al-Balah. Al-Awda Hospital in al-Nuseirat reported 28 bodies and 136 wounded in 24 hours, many of them women and children, attributing the casualties to strikes on al-Nuseirat market, a humanitarian aid point south of Wadi Gaza, and raids on central refugee camps.
#شاهد| اللحظات الأولى بعد قصف الاحتلال منزلًا في حي الدرج بغزة. pic.twitter.com/WWmSWyT1WT
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) September 28, 2025
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s war has killed 66,005 Palestinians and injured 168,162 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Despite relentless bombardment and critical shortages, several hospitals and clinics in Gaza City continue to function under severe strain, the ministry said, appealing to the United Nations and international agencies to protect medical facilities and secure urgent deliveries of lifesaving supplies.
Since March 2, Israel has sealed all border crossings, leaving hundreds of trucks stranded—far below the 500–600 daily deliveries required to meet humanitarian needs.
Read more: A Chorus of outcry: NGOs decry Israel's actions as Gaza faces unprecedented suffering
#صورة| طائرات الاحتلال تستهدف محيط ملعب اليرموك في مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/loKmfemHHQ
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) September 28, 2025
Separately, Israel’s Knesset National Security Committee approved a draft bill authorizing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, moving it to its first parliamentary reading.
According to Israeli media, the measure passed 4–1 despite objections from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the committee’s legal adviser, and government hostage negotiator Gal Hirsch, who warned it could derail efforts to free Israeli hostages. Committee chair Tzvika Fogel of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party pushed it forward, backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir defended the bill as a deterrent, insisting that “anyone holding Israeli captives must know that if a single hair is harmed, the death sentence will follow,” while Hirsch countered that the debate jeopardizes delicate military and diplomatic negotiations to secure hostage releases.
