Israeli Strikes Shatter Gaza Truce as Drone Attacks Kill in Refugee Camp

Israeli forces have not stood down. Strikes continue at a "very high pace" across the strip, shattering the fragile truce that was supposed to hold. Al Jazeera’s Ashraf Abu Amra reports that drone attacks hit the center and north of Gaza over the past few hours. The violence is urgent, immediate, and deadly.

In Deir el-Balah, an Israeli drone fired two missiles in rapid succession at a civilian vehicle parked in the middle of the Maghazi refugee camp. Two Palestinians died on the spot; others were left bleeding. The wounded were rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, thrown straight into operating theaters or intensive care units. One patient remains in critical condition. "The strike was sudden and came without prior warning," Abu Amra noted. Israeli aircraft are flying low over every sector.

North of there, the situation is deteriorating in Jabalia. An earlier strike wounded a Palestinian who was transported to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. But the danger isn't limited to airstrikes. East of Jabalia, in the Halawa camp, one of the largest displacement sites in the north, Israeli forces stationed along the so-called "Yellow Line" have begun firing directly at tents sheltering displaced families. The escalation is visible and terrifying.

In eastern Gaza City, explosions rattled the Shujayea, Tuffah, and Zeitoun neighborhoods due to artillery shelling. Meanwhile, Israeli forces are conducting large-scale demolitions in areas under their control behind the "Yellow Line." This includes zones east of Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City, as well as Beit Lahiya in the north. Homes and the remnants of local infrastructure are being destroyed.

The toll is mounting. On Thursday morning, four Palestinians were buried at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after a drone strike in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, near the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. These victims were civilian employees of the Ministry of Economy responsible for monitoring aid trucks entering through Karem Abu Salem. More than 30 others were wounded in that specific attack. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians live in tents in al-Mawasi, a zone Israel previously labeled a "safe zone."

Elsewhere, emergency services reported that 11 people, including women and children, were wounded when Israeli artillery struck a house east of Gaza City.

Gaza’s Health Ministry released grim figures on Thursday: six Palestinians killed and 38 wounded over the previous 24 hours. The ministry is issuing an urgent call to open the Rafah crossing. Sick and wounded Palestinians need to leave for treatment. They are dying while they wait.

In a statement, the ministry detailed the crisis: 21,468 patients and wounded individuals need to travel outside Gaza for care. Of those, 6,430 are identified as priority cases. The ministry blames repeated border closures and deliberate delays in evacuation procedures for worsening conditions. Dozens have died waiting for permission to leave. The health of thousands more has seriously deteriorated.

Since February, only 3,056 patients and wounded people have been evacuated for treatment abroad. Of that number, 2,614 left through Rafah, which connects Gaza with Egypt, and 442 went through the Karem Abu Salem crossing with Israel. The gap between need and access is vast, and it is widening.