Gaza Death Toll Rises as Israeli Strikes Kill Nine Amid Ceasefire Stalemate

At least nine Palestinians, including a child, were killed in separate Israeli strikes and shootings across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to local health officials, highlighting the continued violence despite an October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

In Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in the Sabra neighborhood, killing four Palestinians, including two women and a child. Medical sources said the attack completely destroyed the apartment and injured several other residents. The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted a militant but did not provide additional details.

Further north in Beit Lahiya, medics reported that Israeli forces shot and killed a woman. In southern Gaza, an airstrike in Khan Younis killed one person and wounded eight others. Later in the day, another Israeli airstrike hit the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people, including a local photographer.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the other reported incidents.

Although the ceasefire agreement reached in October significantly reduced large-scale fighting, Israeli military operations have continued. Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 1,010 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce began. During the same period, Palestinian militants reportedly killed four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

Israel maintains that its military actions are intended to prevent imminent attacks by Hamas and other armed groups. Hamas, meanwhile, rarely releases detailed information about casualties among its fighters.

Efforts to advance the next phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative remain stalled. Mediated talks involving Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and Trump’s Gaza peace envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, have yet to produce an agreement.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said a revised roadmap was recently presented to Hamas and allied factions, addressing some concerns while preserving key elements of the U.S.-backed proposal. A Hamas official confirmed the group is reviewing the document.

Israel continues to demand that Hamas relinquish control of Gaza, disarm, and withdraw from future governance. Hamas insists that any complete disarmament must be linked to a political process aimed at establishing a Palestinian state.

The conflict began after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which Israeli officials say killed 1,200 people. Gaza health authorities report that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the war started.