Israel kills 26 in Gaza, Israeli soldier linked to massacre resurfaces abroad as mercenary

Nikolai Ashurov involved in execution of 15 UN and rescue workers reportedly reappeared in the DRC training local forces as a mercenary

GAZA, Palestine (MNTV) — Israeli forces launched another deadly wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, killing at least 26 Palestinians and injuring 77 others.

The victims of the latest attacks include multiple children who were killed when an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis.

Three farmers working in a field in the Al-Mawasi area, west of the city, were also killed by an Israeli drone strike.

In Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, another air raid killed three civilians, while one person died and several others were injured in a strike on a house in Deir al-Balah in the central strip.

Southern Gaza also saw additional casualties, with at least four people killed in separate Israeli attacks.

Al Jazeera and Anadolu journalists on the ground confirmed the rising toll.

This escalation marks one of the deadliest 24-hour periods since Israel resumed its military offensive on March 18, breaching a ceasefire that had been in place since January.

The offensive has since killed over 2,300 Palestinians and injured more than 6,000.

In a separate but deeply alarming development, Al-Quds newspaper has reported that Nikolai Ashurov, an Israeli military commander accused of ordering and participating in the execution of 15 paramedics, rescue workers, and UN staff in the city of Rafah, has reappeared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a mercenary training local forces.

The victims, who had gone missing after responding to a distress call in Rafah, were found on March 30 in a mass grave, each bearing approximately 20 gunshot wounds, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence.

The attack is being investigated as a possible war crime, and Ashurov’s reemergence in a conflict zone has sparked renewed calls for international accountability.

According to the Health Ministry, at least 52,400 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023, with over 118,000 wounded.

However, the Gaza Government Media Office says the real number of dead exceeds 61,700, as thousands remain buried beneath the rubble.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The UN World Food Programme has declared its food reserves depleted, while the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reports that nearly 3,000 aid trucks are stuck at Gaza’s border, blocked from entering by the Israeli siege.

Gaza’s 2.4 million residents remain cut off from essential supplies, medical care, and humanitarian relief.

The renewed assault and continued blockade have plunged the enclave into a state of near-total collapse, with hunger, disease, and displacement worsening by the day.