GAZA CITY, Palestine: An Israeli drone strike killed at least three Palestinians, including an eight-year-old child, in central Gaza on Monday, Gaza health officials said, in the latest violence despite a ceasefire that has been repeatedly tested by accusations of violations from both Israel and Hamas.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said three Palestinians were killed and several others were injured when an Israeli drone struck a group of civilians in Deir el-Balah.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said the strike hit an area near Wadi Salqa Bridge on al-Baraka Street in central Gaza.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the victims as Ali Fayez Isbaitan, Hassan Salman al-Hanajra and eight-year-old Malik Wael Abu Shaweesh.
An Israeli military source confirmed that the Israeli military had carried out the attack.
“The IDF did carry out a strike targeting fighters. The results of the strike are still being assessed,” the source told AFP.
The military did not immediately comment on the reported civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Turkiye’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Israeli military vehicles advanced along Salah al-Din Street in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza amid gunfire and shelling. It also reported that two people were injured in shelling in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
Ceasefire under strain
The latest strike comes despite a ceasefire that took effect in October. Israel and Hamas have traded near-daily accusations of violating the truce as efforts to secure a permanent end to the war have stalled.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 1,041 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year. The Israeli army has reported six deaths among its forces during the same period.
Separately, Gaza’s Government Media Office said 1,045 Palestinians had been killed and 3,380 injured since the ceasefire began. It said it had documented 3,465 Israeli violations of the agreement.
“We strongly condemn the occupation’s systematic policies of targeting and destroying the Palestinian people,” the media office said in a statement.
It called on the mediators of the ceasefire to compel Israel to implement all terms of the agreement and “immediately cease its ongoing violations”.
On Sunday, Gaza health officials said Israeli attacks killed at least four Palestinians, including a 13-year-old girl, and wounded several others.
Humanitarian situation
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Sunday that 73,054 Palestinians had been confirmed killed and 173,480 injured since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
The Israeli military has continued to expand the area under its control inside the Palestinian enclave during the ceasefire while issuing displacement orders, Palestinian officials said.
Israel says Palestinians are prohibited from entering the Israeli-controlled area beyond the “Yellow Line”.
