Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as continued attacks underscored the fragility of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that has failed to halt the violence or pave the way for reconstruction, health officials said.
In Gaza City, an Israeli strike hit a vehicle in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, killing at least one person, according to medics.
Earlier reports put the death toll at two. Images from the scene showed crowds gathering around the burning wreckage as emergency crews in orange vests sprayed the vehicle with water.
Gaza’s Hamas-led Interior Ministry said the strike killed a noncommissioned officer from the drug-control police department and wounded another officer. The two were returning from an assignment when their vehicle was hit, according to the ministry.
Elsewhere, strikes killed a Palestinian man riding a bicycle in the southern city of Khan Younis and another man near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, medics said. Gunfire killed a woman near the Jabalia refugee camp in the north.
Israel’s military claimed it had struck Hamas members in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City. It said it was unaware of the reported shooting in Jabalia.
The latest deaths come amid renewed Israeli attacks on targets it identifies as Hamas positions.
Israel accuses the Palestinian group of rebuilding its arsenal and carrying out attacks in violation of the cease-fire. Hamas denies the allegations and accuses Israel of undermining the agreement through continued military operations.
The cease-fire, brokered by the United States and implemented in October 2025, envisioned an eventual end to the Gaza genocide, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the reconstruction of the devastated territory.
However, negotiations have made little progress on key issues, particularly Hamas’ disarmament and the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
Israeli airstrikes, gunfire and other military operations have continued despite the truce, leaving Palestinians exposed to further casualties and delaying efforts to rebuild homes and essential infrastructure.
Gaza health officials say at least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since the cease-fire began. Israel, meanwhile, says four of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza over the same period.
The continued violence has deepened concerns about the agreement’s ability to deliver lasting security or meaningful relief to the territory’s population, much of which has been displaced by more than two years of war.
Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began following Hamas' incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
The Gaza Health Ministry has also reported more than 175,000 injuries. The figures are widely cited by the United Nations and international organizations, although the full toll remains uncertain, with victims believed to remain buried beneath destroyed buildings.
