Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 12 Palestinians as Ceasefire Remains Fragile

On Friday, 24 April, Israeli forces launched three attacks in Gaza. A strike in Gaza City killed three; tank shelling in Beit Lahiya killed two; and a strike on a police vehicle in Khan Younis killed seven, including four officers. A drone strike two days earlier near a mosque in Beit Lahia killed five civilians, among them three boys aged 9, 12 and 14. Gaza’s Health Ministry says the death toll since the Oct 10 ceasefire now exceeds 790, highlighting the truce’s fragility.

Reuters

The Israeli Defense Forces said the Gaza City strike targeted Hamas militants and that an operation hit “a terrorist” near the Yellow Line. It confirmed a police vehicle was struck in Khan Younis but gave no comment on Beit Lahiya or drone attacks. Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the Khan Younis strike hit its police force. A Hamas spokesman denounced the attacks as a massacre and accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire. The IDF said it was reviewing reports.

Reuters

Hamas officials called the strikes a massacre that threatens ceasefire; families described the loss. Khalid Al-Tanani said shells destroyed his home in Beit Lahiya, killing his wife and two children. Grandmother mourned, “You took my soul with you, Hamza, you took me with you and broke me, Hamza.” Amna al-Abed said she awoke to shelling, searched for children and found them “lying on ground, martyred” beside husband.

AP reported ten fatalities on Friday, while Reuters counted at least twelve. The Israeli military confirmed only the Gaza City strike, leaving the Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya incidents unaddressed. Some accounts place the Khan Younis hit near a wedding hall, others near a mosque.

Reuters

• “With the first shell, thank God we all survived and were calling out to each other. Then they fired the second, third, and fourth shells one after the other. Their voices fell silent. I went inside and found my wife, Islam Al-Tanani, martyred, and my son, Hamza, and Naya in her mother’s arms. I found them martyred.” — Khalid Al-Tanani, resident of Beit Lahiya

• “You took my soul with you, Hamza, you took me with you and broke me, Hamza,” — Grandmother of the Al-Tanani family

• “I woke up to the sound of heavy shelling and rushed out. I looked around but couldn't find my children beside me,” — Amna al-Abed, mother of Abdullah and Salah al-Abed

• “I rushed outside and found them lying on the ground, martyred. My husband was there with them, wounded.” — Amna al-Abed

• “the horrific massacre” — Hamas spokesman

International monitors will assess ceasefire compliance, and humanitarian groups have called for investigations into the targeting of police and civilians. Ongoing reporting will determine whether the violence escalates or the fragile truce endures.

Reuters