Israeli fire kills three in Gaza, including child, health officials say

Israeli fire killed three people, including a woman and a child, and injured several others across Gaza on Monday, Gaza health officials said. The deaths occurred in the south, center and north of the territory, despite a United States-brokered ceasefire Israel agreed to in October last year.

Who were the three people killed in Gaza on Monday?

The dead are child Ismail Al-Bardawil, 11, in Khan Yunis, 31-year-old Fidaa Toutah near Nuseirat, and Mohsen Ahmed Bahjat in Jabalia. Gaza's civil defense agency confirmed their identities to AFP. Hospital officials said Israeli tank fire, gunfire and a drone strike caused the deaths.

Where did Israeli fire kill three people in Gaza?

Officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis said Al-Bardawil's body was brought in after Israeli tanks opened fire on tents for displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defense agency, said the child was 11 years old. The agency operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority.

In the central Gaza Strip, Al-Awda hospital officials said Toutah died from her wounds after Israeli forces shot her on Salah al-Din street, east of Nuseirat refugee camp. In the north, Al-Shifa hospital officials in Gaza City said Bahjat died after a drone shot him in the head in Jabalia.

The civil defense agency said its teams transported nine wounded people to hospitals after Israeli fire in Khan Yunis in the south and Bureij refugee camp in the center. When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

What is the situation in Gaza since the ceasefire?

Israel agreed to the ceasefire in October last year but has since advanced further into Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. That attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 73,900 people, according to Gaza's health ministry. The ministry is under Hamas authority, and the United Nations considers its figures reliable.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced, according to the ministry. The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.