Israeli fire k!lled at least 11 Palestinians, including children and journalists, in separate incidents across Gaza on Wednesday, according to local medics, further undermining a three-month-old ceasefire in the war-ravaged enclave.
Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists who were travelling in a car on assignment to film a displaced persons camp in central Gaza. In another incident, three people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed by Israeli tank shelling in the same area. Medics also reported that two others, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed in separate Israeli shooting incidents in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Additional Israeli attacks across the territory brought the day’s death toll to at least 11, the Gaza health ministry said.
Responding to the incident involving the journalists, Israel’s military said its troops identified “several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas” in central Gaza and carried out a targeted strike, citing a threat to its forces. The military did not immediately comment on the other reported incidents.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the journalists killed were on a humanitarian and journalistic mission to document the suffering of civilians in displacement camps.
It did not confirm whether a drone was being used. Local journalists said their work was sponsored by the Egyptian Committee that oversees Egypt’s relief operations in Gaza, a claim partially confirmed by an Egyptian security source who said the vehicle belonged to the committee.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says it has documented 206 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since the start of the war, adding that Israel has not published the results of any formal investigation or held anyone accountable.
The Israeli military maintains it targets only combatants and military sites. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate places the number of journalists killed at more than 260.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated violations of the October ceasefire following two years of war that devastated Gaza and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. Disagreements persist over the next steps in a 20-point peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which has not progressed beyond its initial phase.
Under the first phase of the truce, major fighting halted, some Israeli forces withdrew, and Hamas released hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees and prisoners. Future phases are expected to include Hamas disarmament, further Israeli withdrawals, and the installation of an internationally backed administration to rebuild the densely populated territory, but no timetable has been set.
Since the ceasefire took effect, more than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed in clashes. Israel launched its air and ground campaign in Gaza after a Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
Gaza health authorities say at least 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.
