Israeli military forces conducted an airstrike on a makeshift shelter housing displaced individuals in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least three Palestinians, including an 8-year-old boy and his grandfather, as confirmed by medical authorities.
The drone strike, which targeted a neighborhood in Deir al-Balah, a town with minimal damage in central Gaza, claimed the lives of Hassan al-Hanagra, his 8-year-old grandson Malik Abu Shawish, and another individual. Malik Abu Shawish, who was visiting his mother’s tent during the attack, sustained injuries along with seven other individuals.
According to the Israeli military, the airstrike was aimed at a militant target; however, the specific identity of the target and whether they were killed in the operation were not immediately disclosed.
In a separate incident in southern Gaza on the previous day, the Israeli military reported the death of Zaher Abu Salem, a member of Islamic Jihad allegedly involved in triggering the conflict with Israel in 2023. The day saw a total of four fatalities, including a 13-year-old girl named Eileen al-Farra, who was fatally wounded by shrapnel from Israeli tank shelling.
Although the intensity of combat has diminished since the ceasefire agreement in October, Israeli forces continue to carry out frequent strikes, resulting in the deaths of 1,045 Palestinians, including over 360 women and children, according to Gaza health officials. Israel cites its actions as targeting militants who allegedly planned attacks against Israeli forces occupying a significant portion of the Gaza Strip. Since the ceasefire, five Israeli soldiers have been killed in militant assaults.
The Gaza Health Ministry, under the Hamas-led government, maintains comprehensive records of casualties, considered reliable by UN agencies and independent analysts, although a specific breakdown of civilian and militant casualties is not provided.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has led to over 73,058 Palestinian fatalities to date, including those occurring post-ceasefire, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry. In a retaliatory attack by Hamas on October 7 that year, approximately 1,200 individuals were killed, and 251 were taken captive.
Simultaneously, Israeli forces conducted raids in various locations across the occupied West Bank, resulting in the reported death of a 15-year-old from Jerusalem due to a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders rushed Amir Jaber to the hospital from the al-Bireh area following resuscitation efforts at the scene. Additionally, two individuals were injured by Israeli gunfire during a raid near Hebron, the most populous city in the West Bank.
The Israeli military refrained from immediate comments on the incidents.
The raid near the West Bank’s administrative capital, Ramallah, was one of several reported across the region by the Palestinian news agency WAFA on Monday. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs disclosed that at least 59 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank this year.