Six Palestinians, including two women and a child, were killed in Gaza City on Sunday in a combination of airstrikes and tank fire by Israeli forces, causing the deadliest moment in the Palestinian enclave since the start of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran a week ago, according to health officials. Mohammed Abu Selmia, head of Al-Shifa Hospital, said three men were killed near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza, while shells also hit tented shelters, wounding several residents.
The Israeli military said two of the men killed were Hamas members preparing to attack Israeli soldiers, without providing evidence, and no militant group has confirmed the claim. The military declined to comment on a Reuters request for evidence linking the men to possible attacks.
Shortly after midnight, Israeli tank fire hit the central Gaza Strip, killing at least three people – two women, including a local journalist, and a girl – and wounding 10 others, including children. The shells hit tent camps housing displaced families, according to health officials at Al-Awda Hospital.
Reuters footage showed Palestinians inspecting the damage in their makeshift shelters and pointing to blood-stained blankets, while relatives wept over the bodies of the victims. Nisreen Abu Salouf, the daughter-in-law of one of the women killed, said: “I found my daughter-in-law in the tent, I found her with her head cut open… We had just gotten married. Some of her children were also injured.”
Although Israel and Hamas have a US-brokered ceasefire that went into effect in October 2023, violence continues almost daily, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. Since October, Gaza's Health Ministry reports at least 640 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks, while Israel says four of its own soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period. Local authorities say the conflict has caused over 72,000 Palestinian casualties since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 hostages were taken.
