9 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza despite ceasefire

Israeli forces launched fresh airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least nine Palestinians in what witnesses and medical sources describe as targeted attacks on civilian areas despite a standing ceasefire agreement. The strikes hit both the northern and southern regions of the enclave, striking displaced persons' shelters and civilian gatherings in separate incidents.

In the southern Gaza Strip, five Palestinians lost their lives and several others sustained injuries when an Israeli airstrike struck a group of civilians southwest of Khan Younis, according to medical sources on the ground. Paramedics rushed to the scene to transport wounded individuals to nearby hospitals as the death toll continued to mount from the attack.

Northern Gaza Targeted

Meanwhile in the north, four Palestinians were killed and multiple others wounded when an Israeli drone launched a missile at a tent housing displaced families in the Al-Faluja area west of Jabalia town. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as emergency responders worked to pull victims from the rubble and transport the injured to medical facilities under difficult conditions.

Israeli military vehicles simultaneously carried out extensive demolition operations northeast of the Jabalia refugee camp, accompanied by heavy artillery shelling and sustained gunfire in the area. The coordinated ground and air assault came after the Israeli army claimed Saturday it had detected fighters approaching its positions in northern Gaza.

Ceasefire Under Strain

Sunday's attacks represent the latest breach of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, 2025, ending two years of devastating warfare that began on October 8, 2023. According to Palestinian authorities, the war claimed more than 72,000 Palestinian lives and wounded over 171,000 others while destroying approximately 90 percent of civilian infrastructure across the Gaza Strip. United Nations assessments place reconstruction costs at nearly $70 billion.

Since the ceasefire took hold, Gaza's Health Ministry has documented at least 591 Palestinians killed and more than 1,578 wounded by ongoing Israeli attacks, despite the formal end to large-scale combat operations. The continued violence raises questions about the durability of the truce agreement and the protection of civilian populations under international humanitarian law.