An Israeli airstrike struck a funeral in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding 22 others, according to Al-Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The strike targeted the funeral of a Palestinian who had been killed in an earlier Israeli attack earlier that day.
Casualties and Context
Al-Awda hospital confirmed the casualty figures, noting that the funeral was for a victim of a separate Israeli attack earlier on Friday. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the incident.
The strike comes amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, agreed in October, which has significantly reduced hostilities but not ended violence entirely. Since the ceasefire took effect, at least 1,123 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, which maintains detailed casualty records considered reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
Ceasefire Violations and Ongoing Violence
Israel has stated that its strikes are responses to militant attacks, including shootings on troops. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began. The war erupted after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including those killed after the ceasefire, according to Gaza's health ministry.
An independent UN inquiry has found that Israel continues to commit genocide by deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, a claim Israel denies.
