Israeli fire killed two Palestinians in the Tuffah neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health authorities reported, and a separate incident in Gaza City involving an Israeli drone wounded four additional civilians.
Medical personnel described the Gaza City episode as an explosion on the rooftop of a multi-floor building that injured four people in the street nearby. The Israeli military did not provide a comment on either of the incidents.
The enclave has been heavily damaged in the conflict that began after a militant assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which Israeli tallies say resulted in 1,200 deaths. Gaza’s health ministry reports that more than 71,000 people, predominantly civilians, have died from Israeli fire since that outbreak of hostilities.
The health ministry also states that at least 480 people were killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire agreement came into effect last October. Conversely, Israeli authorities say four of their soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Representatives on both sides have exchanged accusations over breaches of the truce.
Diplomatic efforts are ongoing. Washington announced earlier this month that the plan had entered a second phase, under which Israel is expected to pull troops back further inside Gaza and Hamas would relinquish control over the territory’s administration. In support of that process, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met in Israel on Saturday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, primarily to discuss Gaza, according to two people briefed on the matter. The meeting occurred as local authorities continued to report further violence in the enclave.
In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, a funeral drew more than a hundred mourners for a man killed by Israeli drone fire on Saturday. Attendees performed special prayers before his white-shrouded body at the morgue in Nasser Hospital. At the burial, a relative, Fares Erheimat, expressed distrust in the ceasefire, saying, "They are liars, there is no ceasefire."
The recent incidents and official tallies from both sides reflect the fragile security environment even as a diplomatic framework advances to a new phase. Local health authority figures, military casualty reports, and the U.S.-facilitated timetable for administrative changes in Gaza are playing out concurrently, with ongoing accusations about truce violations and continuing civilian harm.