Malala urges immediate ceasefire amid Israeli shelling on Gaza

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel laureate, has demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas as the former continues to hammer Gaza with air strikes.

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip Tuesday with the fiercest air strikes in its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians, razing entire districts despite a threat from Hamas to execute a captive for each home hit.

Israel has vowed to take "mighty revenge", calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists and placing Gaza, a crowded home to 2.3 million people, under total siege.

"I join the call for an immediate ceasefire. As I have processed the tragic news of the past days, I think of the Palestinian and Israeli children caught in the middle," Malala said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Recounting her childhood days, the education activist said she was only 11 years old when she witnessed violence and terrorism.

"We woke up to the sounds of mortar shells, saw our schools and mosques destroyed by bombs. Peace became something we could only dream about," she said.

"War never spares children — not those kidnapped from their homes in Israel, not those hiding from airstrikes or without food and water in Gaza," the activist said.

"Today, I am grieving for all the children and people longing for peace and justice in the Holy Land," she added.

Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education.

Hundreds of Hamas fighters attacked Israel from around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, in an assault that came 50 years after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

The Gaza-based group fired thousands of rockets into Israel and used explosives and bulldozers to break through the fence around the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Israel says Hamas gunmen have killed more than 900 people and wounded over 2,000 in Israeli cities, towns, and kibbutz communities.

On the Gaza side, health officials said at least 765 people had been killed and more than 4,000 wounded.

— Additional input from AFP