Live: Gaza death toll nears 50,700

As Palestinians prepared to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed at least nine people - including five children.

The dawn attacks struck as families were either asleep or getting ready for Eid celebrations, witnesses told Middle East Eye.

“We were safe in our homes, preparing to welcome Eid despite the pain, the bombs, the destruction, death and displacement,” Mohammad al-Qadi, who lost his sister, nephew and two young cousins in the attack, told MEE.

Originally from Rafah, Qadi and his family were displaced to Khan Younis, where they hoped to be safer.

“At around 1.30am [11.30pm GMT], we were surprised by bombings that shook the entire area,” he said. “We went to social media, Telegram, Facebook and were shocked to see that the strikes hit my sister, her son, her husband and my two cousins. [The Israelis] targeted their tent with what I believe was a drone strike, and my sister, her son and my two cousins were martyred.”

Read more: Israeli air strikes kill nine Palestinians as Gaza prepares for Eid al-Fitr

Hungary is rolling out the red carpet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, ignoring an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has slammed Budapest’s decision, calling it a flagrant violation of international law. The Geneva-based group reminded Hungary that, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, it is “legally bound to cooperate fully” with the ICC’s warrants.

Viktor Orban’s refusal to act, it said, amounts to a “serious breach” of Hungary’s obligations. In a rebuke, it accused Hungary of giving safe haven to a fugitive wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “This is not diplomatic neutrality. It is active complicity,” it warned.

Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are both wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including depriving civilians of food, water, and medical aid.

The Yemeni Ministry of Health says relentless US strikes since 15 March have left 59 people dead and 136 others wounded. Among the victims are women and children.

Israeli warplanes have obliterated a family in Khan Yunis, bombing a tent in the southern Gaza Strip.

The attack came after a relentless day of Israeli air raids that killed more than 76 people across the enclave.

US forces have stepped up their air campaign in Yemen, launching 13 fresh raids near the capital, Sanaa, on Sunday evening, according to Yemeni media.

Local reports say eight strikes targeted the Al-Malikah area, while five hit Sarf.

Earlier in the day, a separate US attack on Jadr, in the Bani Al-Harith district, killed at least one person and wounded five others.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the the latest updates on Israel’s war on Gaza and the occupied West Bank:

• At least 64 Palestinians slaughtered on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, a day meant for celebration after Ramadan. Children in festive clothes were among the dead.

• Hamas fires back, accusing Israel of "fascism" and a complete moral collapse: "This bloodshed exposes their lies about humanity."

• Red Crescent recovers 14 murdered paramedics—killed by Israeli strikes last week. They’re calling it a war crime.

• Netanyahu’s ultimatum: Hamas must disarm, exile its leaders, and hand Gaza’s security to Israel for any ceasefire.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least 20 people on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.

• The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers killed a week ago when Israeli forces targeted ambulances in the Gaza Strip.

• Gaza Health Ministry called the Israeli killing of medics in Gaza a ‘heinous crime’, urged “UN organisations and relevant international bodies to conduct an urgent investigation into these crimes and hold the occupation accountable for committing them.”

  Hamas has condemned a newly approved settlement road project in the occupied West Bank, which would separate Palestinian and Israeli traffic near the Maale Adumim settlement.

• French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "put an end to the strikes on Gaza and return to the ceasefire" in a phone call between the two leaders. 

• The Israeli army has announced plans to change the layout of the Palestinian refugee camps in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm as part of a large-scale military operation in the northern occupied West Bank that has been ongoing since late January.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas will have to lay down its arms and leave for a ceasefire deal.

Lebanese authorities said on Sunday that several suspects had been arrested after rockets were fired at neighbouring Israel earlier this month, testing a fragile November ceasefire.

Lebanon's General Security agency said it had "arrested a number of suspects, and the relevant authorities have begun investigations with them to determine responsibility and take the appropriate legal measures".

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket fire that took place on 22 and 28 March.

It, however, prompted an Israeli strike on Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold for the first time since the truce went into effect in November.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society members and families bid farewell to their slain Palestinian first responders killed in an Israeli military fire on ambulances in Gaza last week.

Nine Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli attack on southern Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

A residential building in Hamad City, in the northern part of Khan Younis, was reportedly hit in the attack.

Gaza Health Ministry calls killing of medics a ‘heinous crime’ after the Palestine Red Crescent Society said earlier that it recovered the bodies of 15 Gaza civil defence and health workers in total in Rafah.

“Some of these bodies were bound and shot in the chest. They were buried in a deep hole to prevent their identification,” the ministry said.

The ministry called on “UN organisations and relevant international bodies to conduct an urgent investigation into these crimes and hold the occupation accountable for committing them.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers killed a week ago when Israeli forces targeted ambulances in the Gaza Strip.

Bodies of eight medics from the Red Crescent, six members of Gaza's civil defence agency and one employee of a UN agency were retrieved, the Red Crescent said in a statement.

It said one medic from the Red Crescent remained missing. 

The group said those killed "were targeted by the Israeli occupation forces while performing their humanitarian duties as they were heading to the Hashashin area of Rafah to provide first aid to a number of people injured by Israeli shelling in the area".

"The occupation's targeting of Red Crescent medics ... can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world."

Hamas has condemned a newly approved settlement road project in the occupied West Bank, which would separate Palestinian and Israeli traffic near the Maale Adumim settlement.

The group said in a statement on Telegram that: “The occupation’s continued settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem reveal its malicious intentions and plans to strengthen settlements and push for the displacement of Palestinians from the Holy City.”

The international community has warned repeatedly that Israeli settlement construction in the E1 corridor, which passes from Jerusalem to Jericho, would slice the West Bank in two and compromise the contiguity of a future Palestinian state. 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "put an end to the strikes on Gaza and return to the ceasefire" in a phone call between the two leaders. 

Macron's intervention comes at a time when Israel has resumed its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory following the collapse of a fragile truce with Hamas. 

"I called on the Israeli prime minister to put an end to the strikes on Gaza and return to the ceasefire, which Hamas must accept. I underlined that humanitarian aid must be delivered again immediately," the French leader wrote on the X social network. 

"I also called on Israel to strictly respect the ceasefire it had committed to in Lebanon. This requirement applies to all parties in order to ensure the safety of civilian populations on both sides of the Blue Line."

I just spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin @Netanyahu.

The release of all hostages and Israel’s security are a priority for France.

I called on the Israeli Prime Minister to end the strikes on Gaza and to return to the ceasefire, which Hamas must accept.…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 30, 2025

The eight ambulance team members were killed as they were "targeted by the Israeli army while performing their humanitarian duties" in Rafah in southern Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent said.

The agency said the names of the ambulance crew members who were killed are:

• Mustafa Khafaja

• Ezzedine Sha’at

• Saleh Moammar

• Rifaat Radwan

• Mohammad Behloul

• Ashraf Abu Labda

• Mohammad al-Hila

• Raed al-Sharif

🚨The Palestine Red Crescent Society is devastated by the killing of eight of its EMTs in Rafah, who were targeted by the Israeli army while performing their humanitarian duties. They were responding to an emergency call to assist the wounded following Israeli airstrikes in the… pic.twitter.com/qK79MMFA9l

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 30, 2025