Israeli airstrikes kill 25 Palestinians in Gaza, rattling ceasefire, medics say

Published
Palestinians walk among piles of rubble in the northern Gaza Strip on November 19. — Reuters
Palestinians walk among piles of rubble in the northern Gaza Strip on November 19. — Reuters

At least 25 Palestinians were killed in four Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in Gaza since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities said.

Medics said 10 people were killed in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun, two in the Shujaiya suburb to the east and the rest in two separate attacks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military claimed its forces struck Hamas targets across Gaza after members of the Palestinian group fired on its troops in violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire. No Israeli forces were injured.

Multiple air strikes have pointed to the fragility of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas have traded blame for what both call violations of the US-brokered truce, the first stage of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for a post-war Gaza.

All three attacks were far beyond an agreed-upon imaginary “yellow line” separating the areas under Israeli and Palestinian control, according to medics, witnesses and Palestinian media.

The Zeitoun attack was on a building belonging to Muslim religious authorities and the Khan Younis attack was on a UN-run club, both of which house displaced families.

The October 10 ceasefire in the two-year Gaza war has eased the conflict, enabling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza’s ruins. Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased.

But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 305 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, nearly half of them in one day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops.

Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and claimed it has targeted scores of fighters.

Opinion

Editorial

De-escalation efforts
23 Jul, 2026

De-escalation efforts

WHILE the exchange of fire across the Gulf — and the wider Middle East — continues between the US and Iran,...
Time to integrate
23 Jul, 2026

Time to integrate

PAKISTAN remains one of the least regionally integrated economies in Asia. The trade figures for the last fiscal ...
Modi unnerved
23 Jul, 2026

Modi unnerved

DISCONTENT is visible in India. Delhi has been on the boil since last month. As thousands took to the streets ...
Frozen Award
Updated 22 Jul, 2026

Frozen Award

KP’S petition before the Federal Constitutional Court, seeking Rs964bn as the province’s claimed share of tax...
Delayed pricing
22 Jul, 2026

Delayed pricing

THE ongoing delay in making new, approved lifesaving medicines available to patients is a serious lapse in...
Joint prayers
22 Jul, 2026

Joint prayers

IN a country which has witnessed monstrous bouts of sectarian violence, even symbolic gestures by clerics belonging...