Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 23 Palestinians, including seven children, in Gaza on Wednesday, according to health officials, further undermining a ceasefire agreement in the enclave.
A medic who had rushed to assist victims of an earlier strike was killed by another attack near Khan Younis. A five-month-old boy died in Gaza City, where other strikes also targeted the area.
These attacks occurred three days after Israel reopened its main border crossing with Egypt for Gaza, marking a significant step towards U.S.-backed peace efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation. The Israeli military justified the strikes by stating that they responded to militant fire against Israeli troops near their armistice line with Hamas.
A senior Hamas commander and his 11-year-old daughter were killed in Wednesday’s strikes. An Islamic Jihad commander also perished, along with Palestinian patients preparing to cross through the newly reopened Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
Palestinian health authorities reported that these patients had been on the way to the border but were told their passage would be delayed by Israel. Israeli officials from COGAT confirmed that the crossing remained open but had not received necessary details from the World Health Organization to facilitate crossings, despite an Egyptian security source claiming that security issues in the Rafah area had since been resolved.
The October ceasefire, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for a two-phase approach between Israel and Hamas, included provisions for Gaza’s governance and reconstruction but has seen near-daily violence. The first phase of the ceasefire allowed for limited crossings at Rafah to facilitate humanitarian aid and patient transfers.
Since its start, Israeli artillery fire has killed nearly 560 Palestinians, most civilians, according to Gaza health officials. In return, four Israeli soldiers have been killed in attacks by Hamas militants over the same period. Hamas criticized Israel’s actions, calling for immediate international pressure to halt violations of the ceasefire.