At least 44 people were killed across Gaza on Tuesday as a result of Israeli airstrikes, according to the territory’s civil defence agency, which described the ongoing attacks as devastating for the already war-torn region.

“Civil defence teams have transferred (to hospitals) at least 44 dead, mostly children and women, as well as dozens of wounded, following new massacres committed by the occupation” across Gaza since 1:00 am (2200 GMT Monday), agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

According to Bassal, an Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced civilians in Gaza City claimed eight lives. In central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, 12 people were killed when a residential building was hit.

Another airstrike near the Nuseirat refugee camp targeted a gas station, resulting in 15 fatalities, while nine more individuals were killed when a home in the Jabalia refugee camp was struck. The Israeli military has yet to issue a statement regarding the recent airstrikes.

On Saturday, Israel intensified its military campaign in Gaza, stating the objective was “the defeat of Hamas,” the Islamist group in control of the territory. This escalation was followed by what the military described as “extensive ground operations” launched across Gaza on Sunday.

The ongoing war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,218 people dead—mostly civilians—according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also captured 251 hostages, with 57 still held in Gaza; the Israeli military reports that 34 of them are believed to be dead.

Since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 3,340 additional people have been killed, bringing the total death toll in the Palestinian territory to 53,486.