Gaza Herald – Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in northern Gaza on Friday amid a wave of attacks across the enclave, underscoring the collapse of a US-brokered ceasefire that Israel had repeatedly violated since its implementation in October. Emergency services confirmed that the victims were killed in separate incidents in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, with their bodies transferred to al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.
In southern Gaza, Israeli aircraft struck a residential home in Khan Younis after residents were ordered to evacuate, according to local witnesses. The Israeli military claimed the attack followed gunfire near the so-called “yellow line,” a buffer zone unilaterally imposed by Israel during the ceasefire’s first phase. The targeted home was located near a school sheltering displaced civilians, further fueling Palestinian fears over the erosion of civilian protections.
Israeli attacks were also reported in central Gaza, where tanks and engineering vehicles advanced east of Deir el-Balah, carrying out bulldozing and clearing operations. The latest attacks came just two days after Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians in one of the deadliest days since the ceasefire began. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 574 people had been killed and more than 1,500 wounded by Israeli fire during the supposed truce period.
Meanwhile, limited movement resumed at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, allowing a small number of stranded Palestinians to return and a handful of patients to exit Gaza for medical treatment. Twenty-one Palestinians were reunited with their families after enduring hours-long delays and heavy restrictions. Despite the crossing’s partial reopening, Israeli authorities permitted only a trickle of movement, far below what had been promised under the ceasefire terms.
The reopening of Rafah did little to ease Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe. Medical evacuations lagged sharply behind commitments, with only about 30 patients transferred during the week instead of the 50 per day stipulated in the agreement. Gaza’s healthcare system, already crippled by months of bombardment, remained on the brink of collapse, with dozens of hospitals destroyed and thousands of patients still awaiting life-saving treatment abroad.
