Israeli drone strike kills three Palestinians near Gaza hospital and fuel station

An Israeli drone strike in northern Gaza has killed at least three Palestinians near al-Hilu station in Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. The strike took place on Wednesday close to a site that houses a private specialist hospital and a fuel station. The incident comes despite the ceasefire that has been in place since October.

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Wafa said the strike hit near al-Hilu station, citing local sources. The report did not identify the dead, and there was no immediate independent confirmation of the casualty count. In a separate statement earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had killed four Hamas fighters in northern Gaza.

It named them as Wael Mahmoud Ali Labad, Muaz Mohammad Hassan Ahmad, Sameh Abu Kamil and Akram Ashraf Hamad Labad, but provided no evidence for the claim. The latest deaths add to the toll from continued violence during the truce. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, at least 1,053 Palestinians have been killed and 3,406 wounded since the ceasefire took effect, alongside what it says are 3,465 Israeli violations of the agreement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says 73,066 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 173,514 injured since the war began in October 2023. The figures underline how the ceasefire has not ended lethal incidents on the ground. The strike is significant because it hit an area linked to medical and fuel services in Gaza City, where access to health care and basic supplies remains under strain.

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Attacks near hospitals and fuel infrastructure can deepen pressure on civilians and emergency services, even when large-scale fighting has eased. The incident also comes as the ceasefire's next phase remains stalled, with the planned sequence of prisoner releases, disarmament and Israeli withdrawal still unresolved. The broader truce framework was meant to move into a second stage after Hamas released the remaining captives covered by the first phase in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

That stage was expected to include Hamas disarmament and a gradual Israeli military pullback from Gaza. Instead, negotiations have remained stalled for months, while Israeli forces have continued operations in northern Gaza and expanded the area under their control. What remains unclear is whether the drone strike was part of a wider operation or a separate incident, and whether the dead were civilians or fighters.

It is also not clear whether the hospital and fuel station at al-Hilu station were damaged. Further official statements and local reporting will be needed to establish the full impact of the strike and whether it affects the fragile ceasefire arrangement.

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