Five killed in Israeli strikes west of Gaza City, medics say
Hospital officials and rescue workers in Gaza said five people were killed in two Israeli strikes west of Gaza City on Monday, in the latest reported violence despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. The first strike hit near the entrance of a residential building close to the municipal park in Gaza City, while the second targeted a civilian car in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southwest of the city. The incidents were reported by Al-Shifa Hospital and Gaza civil defence, which said it confirmed the death toll from both strikes.
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Al-Shifa Hospital said it received two bodies after what it described as an Israeli airstrike near the residential building, and later received three more bodies and several wounded after a drone strike on the car in Tel al-Hawa. The civil defence, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, said the car was completely destroyed and reduced to a blackened shell of twisted metal. Images shared by the service showed workers inspecting the wreckage as bystanders gathered nearby.
The Israeli military said both strikes targeted Hamas military operatives, identifying them as members of the group's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades. It said it would provide further details later. The reported deaths add to a continuing pattern of attacks in Gaza even after the ceasefire, with Israel saying it is acting against people it considers militants.
The incident matters because it underlines how fragile the ceasefire remains and how quickly local violence can escalate into wider political tension. Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, has said Israeli operations have killed at least 1,318 people since the ceasefire began, figures the United Nations considers reliable. Over the same period, the Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks and the death of one civilian contractor.
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The broader conflict began after Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. Since then, Israel has repeatedly said it must remove threats from Hamas and its military wing. The latest strikes show that, despite the ceasefire framework, both sides remain locked in a conflict over who is being targeted and whether military action is justified.
What remains unclear is the identities of those killed in the two strikes and whether the Israeli military will release further details about the operation. It is also not clear whether the reported wounded will be added to the casualty count or how the strikes may affect the already fragile ceasefire. Further statements from hospital officials, rescue workers and the Israeli military are likely to shape the next stage of reporting.
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