By JIFAD Staff
July 2, 2025
Gaza City / Washington, DC – Israeli tanks and warplanes unleashed some of the heaviest bombardments in weeks across Gaza, flattening homes and displacing thousands, even as senior Israeli officials arrived in Washington to explore a ceasefire deal brokered by the United States.
Local health authorities in Gaza said late Tuesday that at least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 wounded in the past 24 hours of air and artillery strikes. The offensive targeted residential neighborhoods in Gaza City’s Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, compounding what aid agencies describe as a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
Below is a video report from Gaza, documenting the aftermath of recent Israeli air strikes and showing displaced residents.
“We don’t sleep because of the sounds of explosions from tanks and planes,” said Ismail, a resident of Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan area. “The occupation is destroying homes east of Gaza, in Jabalia and other places around us.”
The escalation comes as US President Donald Trump prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next Monday. Trump told reporters in Florida he plans to press Netanyahu “very firmly” on the need for a swift ceasefire, describing the talks as a potential breakthrough to free Israeli hostages and halt the fighting.
“We want to get the hostages out,” Trump said. “We hope it’s going to happen, and we’re looking forward to it happening sometime next week.”
Hamas, the Palestinian faction governing Gaza, has signaled it is ready to negotiate a ceasefire-for-hostages arrangement. However, it has rejected Israel’s demands to fully disarm and dismantle its armed capabilities, calling such terms unacceptable.
“We will never surrender,” a senior Hamas official said in a statement, adding that any agreement must end Israeli military operations and ensure Palestinians can return safely to their homes.
Since the conflict erupted on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, Israel’s campaign has devastated Gaza. According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 56,000 people have been killed in nearly nine months of war, while almost the entire population has been displaced and faces acute hunger.
International criticism has intensified over the scale of civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction.
Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s close adviser, is in Washington this week meeting US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance to lay the groundwork for the leaders’ summit.
For families inside Gaza, the diplomatic maneuvering offers little immediate relief. New Israeli evacuation orders have sent thousands scrambling into already overcrowded shelters or onto the streets, erecting makeshift tents wherever space remains.
“We have nowhere left to go,” Ismail said. “Every place they tell us to evacuate to ends up being bombed.”
As Washington and Tel Aviv weigh next steps, the conflict shows no signs of abating on the ground. Whether next week’s talks can deliver the ceasefire many have called for remains uncertain.
