In a dangerous breach of the fragile truce, Israeli forces fired a mortar shell over the ceasefire line into a residential area of Gaza City on Wednesday, wounding at least ten Palestinians in an attack that shows the relentless violence faced by civilians despite the ongoing peace deal. The strike on central Gaza City sent critically injured victims to the nearby Al-Ahli Hospital, highlighting the ever-present threat of Israeli fire in areas supposedly governed by a ceasefire. This incident is not isolated but part of a devastating pattern that has seen over 370 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the October 10th truce began, with many victims being civilians, including young children.
The Israeli military’s justification for the attack, claiming the mortar “veered” during an operation near the poorly marked “Yellow Line” ceasefire boundary is a familiar and inadequate excuse for the loss of Palestinian life. This so called “Yellow Line,” which divides the Israeli-occupied portion of Gaza from the rest of the territory, has become a deadly frontier where Palestinian civilians are routinely targeted. Israel routinely claims such strikes are responses to Hamas activity, yet anonymous military officials have admitted awareness of multiple incidents where civilians, not militants, were killed. Just a day before the mortar attack, an Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced families in al-Mawasi killed five Palestinians, including two children, an act Hamas condemned as a “clear war crime”.
These repeated violations occur against the backdrop of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe that the ceasefire has failed to alleviate. The health system is in total collapse, famine has been declared, and 1.5 million people are in desperate need of emergency shelter as winter approaches. Despite ceasefire terms requiring 600 aid trucks daily, Israel has restricted this flow, and the vital Rafah border crossing remains closed, trapping the wounded and sick. This systematic deprivation of food, water, and medicine has been identified by human rights organizations as a war crime and a policy calculated to destroy Palestinian life.
The path to the truce’s second phase, which promises further Israeli withdrawal and Gaza’s reconstruction, remains blocked by Israel’s unilateral demands. Israel insists on the return of one final hostage’s remains before any progress, while simultaneously undermining the conditions for peace through daily military aggressions. In contrast, Hamas has complied with its core commitments, releasing all living hostages and numerous bodies, and has called for international pressure on Israel to end its strikes and lift the siege. The international community watches as Israel, with one hand, engages in talks and, with the other, continues actions that guarantee the ceasefire’s failure and the endless suffering of the Palestinian people.