JERUSALEM: The Israeli military killed three Palestinians, including a child, in an air strike on central Gaza on Monday, according to the health ministry in the devastated territory, despite a ceasefire that has officially been in effect since October.

An Israeli military official confirmed the air strike had been carried out, without providing further details.

The Gazan health ministry said an Israeli strike occurred around 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) in Deir al Balah city in central Gaza, which is under the control of Hamas. Israel occupies around 60 per cent of Gaza.

Twelve Palestinians, eight men and four children, have been killed by the Israeli military since Saturday, according to the health ministry.

The Israeli military claimed on Sunday it killed a Palestinian belonging to Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group in Gaza, who Israel claimed had abducted Israeli civilians in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the most recent conflict.

Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes on Gaza since a U.S.-mediated ceasefire with Hamas was reached in October last year, asserting it was targeting Palestinian fighters threatening its soldiers in Gaza or those who took part in that 2023 attack.

Hamas has accused Israel of constantly violating the ceasefire, while Nikolay Mladenov, the US President Donald Trump-appointed Board of Peace envoy to Gaza, has said both parties have violated the agreement.

Since the ceasefire took effect eight months ago, 1,045 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, according to figures from each side.

Palestinian teen killed in West Bank

Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

“The child Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, 15 years old, was martyred after being shot in the head and once in the chest by occupation soldiers during their raid in the Umm al-Sharayit neighbourhood in Al-Bireh” near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military about the incident.

The Palestinian Red Crescent had earlier said its teams were transporting to hospital and trying to resuscitate a 15-year-old who was shot in the head with live ammunition during a raid in the Umm al-Sharayit area.

Dozens of mourners gathered at the Palestine Medical Complex as grieving relatives wept over the teenager’s body.

“Today, we witnessed a clear-cut execution in broad daylight,” Laila Ghannam, governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, said.

“This is a disgrace to all institutions who claim to uphold democracy and human rights.

“When it comes to our cause, they see nothing. They allow this occupation to escalate its campaign of terror every single day -- not only across Palestine, but throughout the entire region.”

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2026