Israeli strike in Gaza kills 5-year-old girl and uncle
An Israeli strike in Gaza on Monday hit a tent housing displaced people, killing a 5-year-old girl and her uncle and wounding two other children, hospital officials said.
The strike took place in the Muwasi area northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, officials at Nasser Hospital said. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify those details, and family members wept over the bodies as they were brought to the hospital.
The deaths were among more than 400 people killed in Gaza since an October ceasefire began, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, has maintained detailed casualty records that AP said are generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Israel’s military said on social media that it struck a Hamas militant who planned an imminent attack on Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip. The military said the strike complied with the ceasefire agreement and that it was carried out in a targeted way to mitigate civilian harm.
It was not immediately clear whether the military’s statement referred to the fatal tent strike. In the same statement, the Israeli military said that because of continued ceasefire violations, it had begun striking Hezbollah and Hamas terror targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Lebanon briefing and broader regional escalation
The AP reported that the strikes came a few days before Lebanon’s army commander was scheduled to brief the government on a mission to disarm Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel. Israel and Hezbollah had exchanged fire for over a year before reaching a ceasefire in November 2024, AP said.
The report also said Israel continues to control small parts of Lebanese territory and has continued to carry out strikes, accusing Hezbollah of trying to rearm.
Ceasefire toll and additional casualties
Earlier on Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that two other bodies were brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. It said 422 bodies had been brought to hospitals since the ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10.
The ministry said five others were brought to hospitals with injuries over the last day. It said they were among 1,189 wounded since the ceasefire, and that another 684 people had been found dead in rubble strewn across Gaza during the same period.
AP said the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rose to at least 71,388, while 171,269 people had been wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.