DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least four Palestinians, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed Sunday in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that the first strike hit a group of people in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, leaving two dead and one wounded.
A second Israeli strike in southern Gaza took the life of a man, health officials at Nasser hospital confirmed.
Also in southern Gaza, a 13-year-old girl named Eileen al-Farra died after being struck by shrapnel from Israeli tank shelling, Nasser hospital reported.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though it did state that one of the strikes targeted a “Hamas terrorist,” offering no further details.
Residents across Gaza described a Sunday marked by heavy tank shelling and the constant presence of quadcopters — small unmanned aerial vehicles — flying overhead.
While the most intense fighting in Gaza has subsided following a fragile ceasefire agreement reached in October between Israel and the Hamas militant group, Palestinians report new deaths nearly every day. Israel maintains that its strikes target Hamas and other militants who pose a threat or who have violated the terms of the ceasefire.
Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led government, reports that more than 1,040 people in Gaza have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect. United Nations agencies and independent experts generally consider the ministry’s casualty data to be reliable. The ministry does not separate civilian deaths from militant deaths, but notes that women and children account for roughly half of all fatalities.
Israel has reported five of its own soldiers killed since the ceasefire began.
The current conflict was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Israel’s military response in Gaza has since resulted in the deaths of more than 73,050 Palestinians, including those killed after the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
