Israeli Strikes Across Gaza Kill at Least 13 Amid Fragile Ceasefire

At least 13 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Gaza health officials and the Hamas-run civil defence agency said, as rescue teams searched for missing people and hospitals received the dead and wounded. The attacks struck multiple neighbourhoods from northern Gaza to Khan Younis in the south, compounding humanitarian distress already aggravated by winter storms and damaged infrastructure.

Agency dispatches and photographs showed damage at a displacement camp and bodies arriving at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City; one man was identified in images as Ibrahim Subh. Local reporting and rescue agencies said a house in eastern Gaza City was hit and that a tent sheltering displaced people in the south had been struck. A local outlet named an 11-year-old killed in Jabalia refugee camp as Hamsa Nidal Samir Houso. Rescue workers reported continuing searches amid unstable conditions.

The 13-death figure is the most widely cited tally for the day and was attributed to Gaza health authorities and the Gaza civil defence agency. Other tallies issued over different recent timeframes cited lower figures, reflecting varying reporting windows and the evolving nature of rescue operations. The civil defence also reported that children were among those killed; some accounts noted five child fatalities in the incidents, while other agencies reported at least one child died in northern and eastern Gaza areas. Independent verification of the complete casualty list and identities was not available.

Israeli authorities said the strikes were targeted responses to a projectile launched from the Gaza City area that fell inside the strip. The Israel Defense Forces said it “precisely struck the launch point” and that it was checking reports of civilian casualties. Israeli security services framed the action as a response to an attempted rocket launch and said the targets included militant infrastructure and fighters in both northern and southern Gaza.

The violence came while a U.S.-brokered phased ceasefire, put into effect on Oct. 10, 2025, remains in an early and fragile stage. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of frequent violations, and officials warn that each incident risks unraveling the deal. Washington is pushing a diplomatic track tied to the ceasefire; a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, said the president is expected next week to name members of a new “Board of Peace” intended to shepherd stabilization and reconstruction steps.

Regional diplomacy intensified as Egyptian and European Union officials met in Cairo to press for deployment of an international stabilization force to secure aid flows and protect civilians. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Hamas had so far refused to disarm and described the situation as “extremely severe.” Journalists and officials also noted that efforts to recover the remains of the final Israeli hostage believed to remain in Gaza remain unresolved, a process tied to subsequent phases of the ceasefire arrangement.

Humanitarian observers and Gaza agencies warned that damage to shelters and displacement camps, coupled with winter storms and damaged roads and temporary learning spaces cited by UN OCHA references, have further hindered relief operations. With figures and accounts varying by source and timeframe, the latest strikes underscore how quickly localized exchanges can complicate broader diplomatic efforts to stabilize Gaza.