Israeli army kills six displaced Palestinians seeking shelter in Gaza despite ceasefire

One-month-old child dies of hypothermia, authorities say

Displaced Palestinian child Yasser Arafat, 5, who was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition with nutritional edema, sits inside his family's tent at a displacement camp in Khan Younis. Reuters

Israeli shelling on Friday killed at least six Palestinians who were seeking shelter at a Ministry of Education training centre in the east of Gaza city, state news agency Wafa reported overnight.

Israeli attacks have killed nearly 400 people since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in October.

The Israeli military said that “during operational activity in the area of the yellow line in the northern Gaza Strip, a number of suspicious individuals were identified in command structures west of the Yellow Line”.

Famine reversed in Gaza but hunger crisis remains acute

Read More

Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions east of the so-called Yellow Line.

"Immediately after the identification, the forces fired towards the suspects,” the military said in a statement, adding that it was “aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area, and the details are under review”.

The truce remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violations and mediators warning that both sides are stalling.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was to meet officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Florida on Friday, hoping to salvage efforts to reach the second stage of the deal.

At least 70,669 people have been killed and 171,165 injured since October 2023, by Israeli strikes. As the winter intensifies in Gaza, and Israel continues to block aid from reaching those in need, authorities have also announced that a one month-old Saeed Abdeen, died of hypothermia.

The Ministry of Health said he was found with a temperature of 30ºC.

This brings the total number of people who died due to the cold weather and lack of shelter and insulation to 13, authorities said.

Nearly one million people − about half of Gaza's population − are displaced, many surviving winter storms in flimsy tents that are easily torn apart by strong winds and are routinely flooded. Demand for sturdier shelters by families has surged as conditions worsen.

A car is partially submerged next to a small boat in a flooded area after heavy rains in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip. AP Photo

Currently, many Gazans are having to endure squalid conditions in tents. Images and videos shared with The National showed waterlogging, with mattresses, blankets and clothing soaked in foul water.

Humanitarian organisations recognise there is an issue with bringing in tents, primarily because Israeli authorities have rejected dozens of requests by aid groups to do so, either on the pretext that they're not authorised to bring in aid, or that the shelters themselves are being viewed as “dual use”. Israel says tent poles are viewed as a potential security risk.

Gaza’s reconstruction is stalled because the political conditions required to begin rebuilding are not yet in place. Large-scale reconstruction depends on rubble removal, restoring basic infrastructure and allowing in heavy machinery – all of which remain blocked or severely restricted.

Aid groups say the longer this limbo continues, the more temporary displacement hardens into something permanent, complicating any effort to rebuild neighbourhoods in a planned and sustainable way.