Israeli strikes breach Gaza truce, killing eight including a child

2026-02-04 - 07:55

Israeli military operations resumed in Gaza early Wednesday, striking several civilian sites and resulting in multiple fatalities, Palestinian medical sources confirmed. The attacks, which hit areas sheltering displaced families and residential neighborhoods, killed at least eight people, including one child, and wounded several more, breaching the terms of a standing ceasefire. Details of the assault Local health authorities reported receiving the bodies of the deceased and treating the injured at medical facilities across the coastal enclave. Eyewitness accounts described Israeli shelling targeting tents where displaced people were sheltering in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza. Additional artillery fire struck a house in Gaza City's Al-Tuffah district and a street in the Al Zeitoun neighborhood. Conflicting reports and regional fallout The Israeli military, for its part, asserted that one of its reserve officers was seriously wounded during the bombardment and was taken for medical treatment. This escalation occurs against the backdrop of a U.S.-acknowledged second phase of a ceasefire, which envisioned further Israeli troop withdrawals and the beginning of a massive, multi-billion dollar reconstruction program for the devastated territory. Broader conflict background The current, now-violated truce had halted a prolonged Israeli offensive that began in late 2023. That prior military campaign caused catastrophic damage, leading to tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties and the widespread destruction of Gaza's infrastructure. These latest strikes threaten to derail fragile diplomatic efforts and worsen the humanitarian crisis for Palestinian civilians.