An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Gaza City's Tuffah neighborhood on Thursday, marking yet another deadly violation of the US-brokered ceasefire that has left hundreds dead since its implementation last October, according to Gaza's health officials. Medics confirmed that Israeli warplanes targeted a group of civilians near Al-Mahatta Park in the eastern part of the neighborhood, resulting in two fatalities and multiple wounded. The Israeli military has not issued any comment regarding this specific attack, continuing a pattern of silence surrounding its ongoing operations in the besieged enclave.
This latest bloodshed brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025 to at least 618, with more than 1,660 others wounded. The cumulative death toll from Israel's genocidal war, which began on October 7, 2023, has now surpassed 72,000, the vast majority of them women and children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. These figures do not include the thousands still missing under the rubble, as civil defense teams remain unable to access vast areas of destruction due to ongoing Israeli military operations and severe equipment shortages.
The ceasefire's second phase officially began last month with promises of gradual Israeli withdrawal and the establishment of an international stabilization force, but on the ground, the reality is starkly different. Israeli forces continue to control more than half of Gaza's territory, conducting near-daily airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ground incursions across the Strip. The United Nations has documented that Israel denied or impeded nearly half of all coordinated humanitarian aid movements between February 6 and 11, with five missions denied outright and eleven others facing significant delays.
The relentless Israeli assault has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Approximately 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are now living in makeshift tents, with 80 percent of shelters constructed from highly flammable materials that offer no protection against winter rains. At least twelve fires have erupted in displacement camps since November, causing injuries and destroying hundreds of shelters.
Food insecurity has reached critical levels. World Central Kitchen, which provides approximately one million free meals daily, has warned that its operations may be suspended due to Israeli restrictions that have slashed permitted aid truck entries from 25 to just five per day. Families report surviving on half a box of cheese shared among seven people, with food distributions occurring only once every week or ten days. The UN reports that current humanitarian food stocks are insufficient to sustain even reduced ration distributions for the remainder of the month.
The health system continues its collapse under systematic Israeli targeting. Only 19 of Gaza's 37 hospitals are functioning, and those only partially, facing critical shortages of medicines, laboratory reagents, and fuel. While 211 patients have been medically evacuated through the Rafah crossing since early February, thousands more remain trapped, their lives hanging in the balance as Israeli authorities impose endless delays and bureaucratic obstacles.
Hamas leadership has documented Israel's clear and blatant violations in communications with international mediators, including the continued killing of civilians, detention of Palestinians, severe aid restrictions, and obstruction of Rafah crossing operations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has urgently called for the removal of all Israeli obstacles to implementing the second phase, warning that ongoing violations threaten the durability of the entire agreement.