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Updated 1 February 2026 - Gaza health officials report at least 32 fatalities following overnight Israeli military operations.
Strikes target civilian areas amid fragile ceasefire
Israeli air raids across the Gaza Strip on Saturday left at least 32 Palestinians dead, including women and children, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.
One attack in Khan Younis, a southern Gaza city, involved helicopter gunships firing on a tent sheltering displaced families, the agency stated. Residential buildings, makeshift shelters, and a police station were also hit.
Casualties and destruction documented
Seven members of a single displaced family were killed in Khan Younis, civil defence officials reported. In Gaza City, an air strike on an apartment building claimed the lives of three children and two women, Shifa Hospital staff confirmed.
"We found my three little nieces in the street. They talk about a ceasefire. What did those children do? What did we do?"
Samer al-Atbash, uncle of the deceased children, told Reuters
Footage and photographs from across Gaza showed rescue teams extracting bodies from rubble and entire structures reduced to debris.
Israel cites Hamas violations as justification
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed conducting multiple strikes in response to what it described as a Hamas breach of the ceasefire agreement on Friday.
In a statement, the IDF said its forces, alongside the Israel Security Agency (ISA), targeted "four commanders and additional Hamas operatives," a weapons storage site, a manufacturing facility, and two rocket launch sites in central Gaza. The military also reported that "eight terrorists emerged from underground infrastructure in eastern Rafah" before being engaged.
Ceasefire under strain as mediators condemn violence
Hamas condemned the strikes as "ongoing violations" and accused Israel of pursuing a "brutal war of genocide" in Gaza. The group called on the United States to intervene immediately.
Egypt's foreign ministry denounced the raids, urging all parties to "exercise maximum restraint," according to a statement obtained by AFP. Qatar, a key mediator in the ceasefire negotiations, also criticized the "repeated Israeli violations" through its foreign ministry.
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is scheduled to reopen on Sunday following the recovery of Israel's last hostage earlier this week.
Background: war and ceasefire phases
The conflict began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas-led forces attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 71,660 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, at least 509 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed, the ministry added. While Israel has historically contested figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, a senior security source acknowledged to local media that the military accepts a death toll exceeding 70,000 in Gaza. The United Nations and human rights organizations have deemed the ministry's data reliable, and it is widely cited by international press.
Independent reporting inside Gaza remains restricted, as Israel bars news organizations, including the BBC, from entering the territory.
Ceasefire framework and future steps
The current truce was established under a two-phase agreement brokered by former US President Donald Trump in October 2025. Phase one included a hostage-prisoner exchange, a partial Israeli withdrawal, and an increase in humanitarian aid.
In January 2026, US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the commencement of phase two, which aims to establish a technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza, oversee the territory's reconstruction, and achieve full demilitarization, including the disarmament of Hamas and other armed factions.
