DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least seven people lost their lives and 22 more were injured Friday when an Israeli airstrike hit a funeral gathering in the Gaza Strip, according to a local medical facility.
The Israeli military had not issued any statement addressing the strike as of Friday.
Awda Hospital, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp, confirmed the death and injury toll. Officials there said those gathered had been mourning a Palestinian who died in a separate Israeli strike earlier in the day when the second attack occurred.
Israel and the Hamas militant group had reached a ceasefire agreement in October with the goal of ending a conflict that had stretched on for two years. While the most intense fighting has died down, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 1,123 people have been killed in the territory since that ceasefire went into effect.
The Health Ministry operates under the Hamas-led government and keeps detailed records of casualties. United Nations agencies and independent analysts generally consider its figures to be reliable. The ministry does not separate civilian deaths from militant deaths in its data, though it notes that women and children account for the majority of fatalities.
Militant groups have continued to carry out shooting attacks against Israeli forces, and Israel has said its airstrikes are a direct response to those incidents and other breaches of the ceasefire. Five Israeli soldiers have died since the truce began.
The conflict traces back to a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which claimed approximately 1,200 lives and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza. Including deaths recorded since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry says the total Palestinian death toll has surpassed 73,264.
