CAIRO, June 20 - Health officials said on Saturday that Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip, including a child.
According to medics, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, killing four Palestinians - two women and a child - and demolishing the apartment. Several other residents were reported wounded in the attack, the medics added.
In a separate incident further north, medics said Israeli forces shot and killed a woman in the town of Beit Lahiya.
The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on either incident, according to the reports.
Officials noted that an October ceasefire may have brought an end to major battles between Hamas and Israel, but it has not stopped Israeli strikes. Gaza's health ministry reported that more than 1,010 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire went into effect. Over the same interval, four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza.
Israel has stated that its strikes are aimed at thwarting imminent attacks by Hamas and other militants. The reporting also noted that Hamas rarely provides information about the deaths of its fighters.
Both sides remain deadlocked over how to implement the next stage of the Trump Gaza plan, a phase that calls for Hamas to lay down its arms and for Israeli forces to withdraw.
Context and implications
- The incidents described reinforce that, while a ceasefire may have reduced large-scale combat, targeted strikes and shootings continue to cause civilian casualties.
- Key institutions - including medical services in Gaza and the Israeli military - appear to be central sources for casualty and operational information, though official military comment on these specific events was not immediately available.
- The political impasse regarding the proposed next stage of the Gaza plan remains unresolved, complicating prospects for a longer-term reduction in violence.
This account is drawn from statements by health officials and medics and reports on the death tolls provided by Gaza's health ministry; no additional information or independent confirmation from military sources was available at the time of reporting.