Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza, threaten to unravel ceasefire

Published
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who, according to medics, was killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 9. —Reuters
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who, according to medics, was killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 9. —Reuters

CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed 13 Palestinians in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said while revising the earlier death toll from seven.

An Israeli airstrike killed four people and wounded three others, including children, in a tent in the western area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Another strike killed a person east of the city, near where Israeli forces operate.

Later on Thursday, a man was killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Jabalia, northern Gaza, while another strike killed a person in a tent near Deir al Balah, in central Gaza Strip.

Four other people were killed in a separate strike in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli military said it struck several “rocket launch pits” after a rocket was launched from Gaza City toward Israel. The military said the rocket fell short and landed by a hospital in Gaza and accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreed in October has not progressed beyond the first phase, under which major fighting stopped, Israel withdrew from less than half of Gaza and Hamas released prisoners in return for Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.

Under future phases yet to be hammered out, US President Donald Trump’s plan envisages Hamas disarming, Israel pulling out further and an internationally backed administration rebuilding Gaza.

No progress made

But little progress has been made on the next steps. More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, and nearly all of Gaza’s more than two million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026

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...