Five Killed in Gaza as Israeli Strikes Continue Despite Ceasefire

At least five Palestinians were killed in two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials and medics, as violence continued despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025.

The first strike hit an area near the municipal public park in Gaza City, where displaced Palestinian families have gathered. Medics said two people were killed and several others wounded.

Hours later, another Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza City, killing at least three people, according to medics. Reuters reported that relatives and friends later gathered at Al-Shifa Hospital to mourn two of those killed.

The Palestinian Civil Defence service and Al-Shifa Hospital also confirmed the deaths from the two attacks. NDTV, citing Agence France-Presse, reported that the hospital received two bodies after the first strike and three more bodies following the attack on the vehicle.

Israel says Hamas operatives were targeted

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted members of Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.

Israel did not provide further operational details in its initial response to Reuters. In a separate statement cited by AFP, the military identified one of those killed as Omar Mohammed Roshdy Saraj and said he supplied weapons to Hamas.

“The terrorists were struck to remove the threat they posed,” the Israeli military said, according to AFP.

The claim that the people killed were Hamas operatives could not be independently verified from the available reports. Palestinian health officials and medics reported the deaths but did not establish that those killed were members of Hamas.

The distinction is significant because the initial reports described casualties in areas where civilians, including displaced families, were present.

Ceasefire has not ended Israeli strikes

The latest attacks come amid a ceasefire arrangement backed by the United States that began in October 2025. The agreement halted major fighting but has not brought an end to Israeli military strikes in Gaza.

The United Nations has described the ceasefire as fragile. In an August 27 briefing, UN officials said talks were continuing on implementation of a broader plan to end the Gaza conflict while warning that the situation remained unacceptable.

The United Nations had welcomed the ceasefire agreement in October 2025 and urged all parties to comply fully with its terms.

According to Gaza health officials cited by Reuters, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect. The Israeli military has reported the deaths of four Israeli soldiers during the same period.

The Gaza Health Ministry operates under the Hamas-led administration. Reuters noted that its overall casualty figures have been widely used by international organisations, although individual incidents and identities can be difficult to independently verify because of the conditions in Gaza.

A continuing cycle of strikes

Monday’s attacks were the latest in a series of Israeli strikes reported in Gaza since the ceasefire began.

Israel has maintained that its military operations are intended to prevent attacks by Hamas and other armed groups. Hamas, meanwhile, has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and obstructing efforts to implement a wider U.S.-backed plan that calls for Israeli withdrawals and the disarmament of Hamas.

The latest violence also follows other deadly incidents in recent days. Reuters reported that an Israeli strike in central Gaza on August 30 killed two Palestinians, including a three-year-old boy. Israel said the other person killed was a Hamas militant involved in planning attacks against Israeli targets.

The broader conflict began after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza health authorities say more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations since the war began, according to Reuters.

For civilians in Gaza, the continuing strikes mean that the ceasefire has not translated into a complete halt to military violence.

The circumstances surrounding Monday’s two attacks, including the identities and status of all five people killed, remain subject to further verification. Israel’s claim that Hamas operatives were among those targeted has not been independently established in the available reporting.

The situation remains developing, and further casualty or military information could change the account.