Deadly strikes hit a family home in Nuseirat and a police vehicle on Salah Al-Din road; fatalities come despite ongoing ceasefire deal.
CAIRO/GAZA — At least 12 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman, her 10-year-old son, and eight police officers, were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to hospital authorities.
The first strike struck a house in the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat in central Gaza early Sunday morning. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed that four people were killed, including a couple in their 30s and their young son. The woman was reportedly pregnant with twins.
A 15-year-old neighbor was also killed in the blast, with his body taken to the Awda hospital in Nuseirat.
“We were sleeping and got up to the strike of a missile. The strike was strong. There was no prior warning,” said Mahmoud Al-Muhtaseb, a neighbor.
Later in the afternoon, a second Israeli strike targeted a police vehicle on the Salah Al-Din route—the main south-north artery—at the entrance of the central town of Zawaida. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported that eight police officers were killed, including Col. Iyad Abu Yousef, a senior police official in central Gaza. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed the toll and stated that 14 others were wounded in the incident.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant in response to an earlier incident where a militant opened fire on troops, though it did not provide further details.
Ceasefire Under Strain
Sunday’s deaths underscore the fragility of the ceasefire deal that aimed to halt more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
While large-scale combat has subsided, almost daily Israeli fire has continued. Gaza health officials report that over 650 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect, through a combination of airstrikes and fire near military-declared zones.
Israel maintains it is responding to ceasefire violations or targeting wanted militants. However, the Gaza Health Ministry states that approximately half of those killed have been women and children.
The latest fatalities bring the total Palestinian death toll since the war began to more than 72,200, according to the ministry. The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 hostages being taken.
Rafah Crossing to Reopen
In a separate development, Israel announced it will allow the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt starting Wednesday, after a hiatus of more than two weeks.
COGAT, the Israeli military body coordinating aid to Gaza, stated that the crossing will resume operations with “limited” passenger traffic in both directions. However, no cargo will be permitted.
The crossing had been closed since Feb. 28, following the escalation of regional conflict involving US-led strikes on Iran. The procedures will mirror those in place prior to the closure, which allowed a limited number of patients and wounded individuals to exit Gaza for medical treatment—a fraction of the more than 20,000 estimated to require medical evacuation.
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