Gaza Herald – Israeli occupation forces opened the new year with renewed attacks on Gaza, continuing to violate the fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, 2025.
Local residents reported multiple airstrikes, artillery shelling, and live fire across the Strip in the early hours of Thursday, marking at least eight new breaches since dawn.
In southern Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck eastern Khan Younis while armored vehicles fired into residential neighborhoods. Similar attacks were reported north of Rafah, alongside a series of air raids hitting different parts of the city, deepening fears among civilians already living under constant threat.
The escalation extended to Gaza City, where Israeli artillery shelled eastern areas of the Tuffah neighborhood, accompanied by heavy gunfire. Warplanes also targeted Shujaiya at dawn, with renewed shelling and live fire hitting eastern districts in what residents described as a sustained military assault.
As attacks intensified on the ground, Israeli media circulated claims that preparations were underway to open the Rafah crossing from both sides, allegedly based on an understanding between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Israeli broadcasters, Washington had applied pressure in recent days, with an official announcement potentially forthcoming.
Palestinian officials dismissed the claims as hollow amid ongoing violence, noting that Israel kept Gaza’s crossings closed for 220 days in 2025 alone, blocked more than 132,000 aid trucks, and allowed only a fraction of needed fuel to enter. Since the ceasefire began, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 415 civilians killed and over 1,150 wounded, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s genocide on Gaza since October 2023 to more than 71,000, in what Palestinians describe as a continuing campaign of devastation without real guarantees of calm.
