Israeli airstrike kills 4 Palestinians, including pregnant woman, in Gaza

At least four Palestinians, including two boys and a woman pregnant with twins, were killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in the war‑torn Gaza Strip, hospital officials said. The strike hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing a couple in their 30s, their 10‑year‑old son and a 15‑year‑old neighbor. A younger brother of the neighbor was wounded in the attack, according to staff at nearby Al‑Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. There was no prior warning before the strike, witnesses said, and the Israeli military had not issued a comment.

The deaths came amid almost daily hostilities despite an October ceasefire deal meant to end over two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Gaza health officials say more than 650 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect , with roughly half of the fatalities being women and children . The toll of the wider war, which erupted after Hamas‑led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has surpassed 72,000 Palestinians killed , according to Gaza health authorities, though they do not distinguish between civilians and fighters in their tallies. Israel says its actions are responses to ceasefire violations or militant attacks.

Local witnesses described scenes of devastation at the Nuseirat strike site, where the residential building was reduced to rubble and neighbors rushed to help pull survivors from the wreckage before ambulances arrived. The Palestinian Civil Defense and hospital staff in central Gaza have reported frequent strikes on residential areas and internally displaced persons even as the ceasefire remains officially in place, contributing to mounting humanitarian concerns.

International and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly expressed alarm over the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas and the high number of civilian casualties, urging transparent investigations into strikes that appear to violate international humanitarian law. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has noted a particularly heavy impact on women and children in central Gaza, including repeated attacks on homes and displacement shelters in the Nuseirat area.

The broader regional context remains tense, with continuing clashes in Gaza and rising violence in other occupied Palestinian territories, including West Bank incidents reported on the same day. These developments underscore the fragility of the current ceasefire and the enduring humanitarian crisis facing civilians across the enclave.