Seven killed in Gaza as strikes continue on ceasefire anniversary

At least seven people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed in separate Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, according to medical sources. The deaths were reported a year after the United States-backed ceasefire came into effect, with fresh strikes hitting Gaza City and Khan Younis. The incidents were spread across different parts of the enclave, underscoring the continuing risk to civilians despite the truce.

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A source in ambulance and emergency services said Shahd Abdul-Razzaq al-Najjar, aged eight, was killed by an Israeli quadcopter drone in the al-Jawazat area of western Gaza City. In the same area, four people were killed and several others injured in a separate bomb attack near Haider Abdel Shafi roundabout, according to al-Shifa Hospital. The hospital also said one more Palestinian was killed in a drone strike in the Tuffah neighbourhood of northeastern Gaza City.

In Khan Younis, a woman died from injuries sustained in an earlier attack on Saturday. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 1,481 Palestinians have been killed and 5,254 injured since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year. It also said that in the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks killed at least nine people and injured 65, with one more person dying from earlier wounds.

Those figures indicate that the ceasefire has not ended lethal violence on the ground, even as it remains the formal framework for the conflict. The latest deaths matter because they come on the anniversary of a ceasefire that was meant to reduce hostilities, yet has been described by local and humanitarian voices as failing to stop daily harm. The reported toll also adds to the wider human cost of the war, which Gaza's Health Ministry says has killed at least 74,370 people and injured 175,371 since October 7, 2023.

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For civilians in Gaza City and Khan Younis, the immediate effect is continued insecurity, displacement risk and pressure on already strained medical services. The reported strikes also highlight the role of drones, bomb attacks and repeated incidents in densely populated areas, where hospitals are often left to confirm deaths and injuries after the fact. A joint statement from more than 100 humanitarian, human rights and civil society organisations said on Friday that the ceasefire exists only in name, citing continued killings, injuries and restrictions on aid and rebuilding materials.

That assessment reflects a broader concern that the truce has not translated into meaningful protection for civilians or recovery conditions. What remains unclear is whether there will be any immediate change in the pattern of attacks or any new diplomatic response to the latest deaths. The confirmed figures may rise as more information emerges from hospitals and emergency teams.

For now, the key issue is whether the ceasefire can be made effective in practice, or whether the current level of violence will continue.

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