Israeli Airstrikes Kill 30 in Gaza Ahead of Rafah Crossing Reopening

Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed around 30 Palestinians, including several children and multiple police officers, in one of the deadliest single nights of bombing since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in October 2025 theguardian +1. The attacks came less than 24 hours before Israel was due to reopen the Rafah crossing with Egypt, a key element of the fragile truce and a rare exit point for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents aljazeera +1.

Gazan hospitals reported between 27 and 31 deaths as strikes hit a police station, residential buildings and a tent camp for displaced people, leaving dozens more wounded theguardian +2. Israel said it was responding to a ceasefire violation after eight gunmen emerged from a tunnel in Rafah on Friday, and that the operation targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and weapons facilities rather than civilians theguardian +1.

Ceasefire Under Strain as Civilian Toll Mounts

The heaviest casualties were reported in Gaza City, where a strike on the Sheikh Radwan police station killed at least 10 officers and detainees, with some hospital reports putting the toll at 14, including policewomen and inmates theguardian +1. Another strike levelled part of a residential building, killing at least three children from the same family; “They say ‘ceasefire’ and all. What did those children do?” their uncle, Samer al‑Atbash, said outside a Gaza hospital theguardian.

In the south, bombs hit a tent encampment sheltering displaced families near Khan Younis, killing at least seven people, including women and children, according to medical staff at Nasser hospital france24. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the latest attacks pushed the enclave’s overall death toll from the war to more than 71,700 people, a figure that Israel’s military has recently acknowledged is broadly accurate after previously dismissing the ministry’s numbers as inflated inbox +1.

Israel Cites Tunnel Raid; Regional and Global Repercussions

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday’s strikes were “operationally necessary,” describing targets as Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders, arms depots, rocket launch positions and manufacturing sites, and framing the bombardment as a direct response to militants emerging from a tunnel in Rafah a day earlier theguardian +1. Israeli forces said three gunmen were killed and one Hamas commander captured in that incident, which they called a serious breach of the ceasefire theguardian.

Hamas condemned the air raids as “a renewed flagrant violation” of the truce and urged the United States and other mediators to force Israel to halt its attacks france24 +1. Egypt, which controls the other side of the Rafah crossing and helped broker the ceasefire, also denounced the strikes and appealed for restraint ahead of Sunday’s planned reopening, warning that repeated violations threatened both humanitarian access and the wider U.S. peace initiative for Gaza aljazeera +1. The escalation coincided with Washington’s approval of more than $6.5 billion in new arms sales to Israel, including Apache attack helicopters, a move critics said undercut U.S. calls for de‑escalation english.

The Bigger Picture

Saturday’s deaths underscored how lethal the “quiet” of Gaza’s ceasefire has remained: more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce came into force, even as diplomats press Israel and Hamas to move into a second phase that includes reopening crossings and steps toward Hamas’s disarmament france24 +1. Whether the Rafah crossing opens smoothly on Sunday, and if both sides curb further violations, will test not only the durability of the ceasefire but also the credibility of a broader peace plan that is struggling to take hold while bombs are still falling.

theguardian Reuters, Jan. 31, 2026
france24 France24, Jan. 31, 2026
aljazeera The Guardian, Jan. 31, 2026
egypttoday Associated Press / regional outlets on Rafah reopening
english Al Jazeera live updates, Jan. 31, 2026
theguardian Times of Israel, IDF statements
inbox Gaza Health Ministry figures; Reuters, Haaretz, Guardian reports on Israel’s acceptance
english CNN and DW reporting on 70,000+ death toll
english U.S. State Department / AFP reports on arms sales