Two children were among at least four Palestinians killed in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to local health authorities.
A 10-year-old girl was fatally shot in the back while eating in a tent in Khan Younis, with witnesses attributing the gunfire to Israeli forces positioned to the east. In a separate incident, a 4-year-old boy died alongside another Palestinian in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Bureij refugee camp. An additional strike on a road in Khan Younis killed one person and injured another inside a tent. A separate airstrike in Deir Al-Balah resulted in one death and one injury.
The Israeli military stated it was not aware of the incident involving the 10-year-old girl and reported conducting strikes on multiple Hamas weapons storage sites, including two inside mosques and one adjacent to a desalination plant. The military also issued evacuation orders in the Beach refugee camp and Deir Al-Balah ahead of airstrikes, with no casualties reported in those areas.
Hamas accused Israel of violating the October ceasefire and undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan, which includes an Israeli withdrawal and Hamas disarmament. Israel maintained its actions targeted imminent militant threats, including Hamas and other armed groups.
Since the ceasefire took effect in October, Gaza health authorities report over 1,280 Palestinian deaths and four Israeli soldier fatalities, according to military records.
The conflict’s humanitarian impact has been compounded by water shortages, with reports of a desalination plant in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood being struck. Hamas and local residents attributed the attack to Israel, though an Israeli military spokesperson denied targeting the facility and did not confirm whether it sustained damage.
