GAZA CITY, Palestine: An Israeli drone strike killed at least two Palestinians and wounded several others in eastern Gaza City on Thursday, medical officials said, in the latest violence to shake a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10.
Fadel Naeem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, said the casualties were brought to the facility after a strike hit a public park in the Tuffah neighbourhood.
Medical staff at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital said a drone shelled a civilian gathering in al-Mahatta Park, a residential area where families often congregate.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strike.
Killings near Gaza’s ‘yellow line’
In a separate incident, the Israeli military said its forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in southern Gaza after he crossed what it described as a temporary boundary set under the ceasefire.
The military said troops identified an “armed suspect” who breached the “yellow line” dividing Israeli-held areas from zones where Palestinians are permitted to move.
It said the man posed a threat and was “neutralised”.
A military official, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity in line with army rules, said the army maintains that those shot near the line are fighters, although civilians — including children — have also been killed in similar incidents.
The yellow line demarcates territory where Israeli forces are deployed — estimated at about 53 percent of Gaza — from western areas where most of the population is concentrated under the truce.
Rising toll under Gaza truce
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 618 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,660 injured by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect.
The truce was intended to halt more than two years of war.
Palestinian officials say the Israeli bombardment campaign has killed over 72,000 people and wounded more than 171,000 since October 2023, devastating much of the enclave’s infrastructure.
Deadly incidents have repeatedly disrupted the ceasefire, leading many Palestinians to say the war has effectively continued despite the agreement.
On Wednesday, medical officials reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people in what they described as one of the deadliest days since the fall truce was announced.
Hospital officials said air strikes hit a residential block in Gaza City and a shelter in Khan Younis.
The casualties included two women and six children from separate families.
Shifa Hospital said a strike in Gaza City killed a woman, three children and a relative.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that an attack on a makeshift settlement caused a fire that killed seven people, including a father, his three children and three young relatives.
