Israeli airstrike kills three in Gaza tent, including child
An airstrike hit a displaced families' tent in Deir al-Balah, killing three people, including an 8-year-old child, despite a ceasefire in force since October.
An Israeli airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killing three Palestinians, including an 8-year-old child, and wounding another person, according to the Gaza health ministry. The strike landed in a civilian shelter setting in one of the least damaged towns in central Gaza, sharpening doubts over whether the ceasefire is holding in practice even as it remains officially in effect.
The dead were identified by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as two men and the child. Israel said the target was Zaher Abu Salem, whom it described as a member of Islamic Jihad and someone involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The Israeli military confirmed an air strike had been carried out but initially gave no further details.
That split account captures the central strain in Gaza’s ceasefire period: Israeli officials continue to frame strikes as legitimate operations against militant figures, while Palestinian authorities describe the same attacks as lethal violations against civilians living under a truce. In this case, the fact that the strike hit a tent used by displaced families made the civilian toll immediate and visible, not abstract.
The ceasefire has officially been in place since October 2025, after the U.S.-brokered deal that ended the major phase of the two-year war. But deaths have continued to puncture the truce, and each new strike has revived questions about how far military action can go before the ceasefire becomes little more than a formal label.
The broader toll remains staggering. Reuters-linked reporting says the Gaza Health Ministry has put the Palestinian death toll from the war at more than 73,058, including people killed since the ceasefire took effect. The war began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken.
Deir al-Balah has become a symbol of Gaza’s uneven destruction. While much of the strip has been devastated, the town has been described as one of the least damaged areas in central Gaza, making the strike there especially stark for displaced families who had already been forced to move repeatedly. Every new attack now carries the same political weight as a military operation and a test of whether the ceasefire can survive the next civilian death.
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