'No safe place': Another deadly day in Gaza as Israeli violates ceasefire

Early Wednesday morning, the Gaza Strip was once again engulfed in violence as Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire killed at least 21 Palestinians, including women, children, and a paramedic. 

The attacks targeted tents sheltering displaced families and residential buildings in Gaza City and Khan Younis, raising serious doubts about the durability of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 10 October 2025. 

For many, the fragile relief has now been shattered.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said that Israeli warplanes and drones, accompanied by heavy artillery, carried out strikes across the Strip, hitting particularly the eastern outskirts of Gaza City and areas west and south of Khan Younis. 

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence, said one of the deadliest strikes targeted a tent housing displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, killing three Palestinians, including two women and a paramedic working with relief teams operating in the area.

Bassal added that 14 others, including three children and five women, were killed after heavy shelling hit the outskirts of the Zeitoun and Tuffah neighbourhoods east of Gaza City. 

The victims were transported to Al-Shifa Medical Complex, while emergency teams struggled to reach other locations amid ongoing shelling and gunfire. 

"We received dozens of distress calls from residents trapped under fire," Bassal said. "In several areas, ambulances and civil defence crews could not reach the wounded, which increased the death toll."

Earlier on Wednesday, four Palestinians, including a child, were killed when artillery shells struck tents sheltering displaced families in the Qizan Rashwan area south of Khan Younis, according to Basal. 

Victims were taken to Nasser Medical Complex, where medical sources described conditions as catastrophic due to shortages of supplies and fuel.

'No safe place'

"We live in these tents after the ceasefire, hoping to catch our breath, but death pursued us again. There are no safe places; even the tents have become direct targets," Mohammed Abu Ali, a resident from eastern Khan Younis, told The New Arab. 

"We live every day under the sound of shelling, and we don’t understand how anyone can talk about a truce while women and children are being bombed," he added. 

The attack followed an Israeli army claim that a reserve officer was seriously wounded when a military force came under fire in northern Gaza, describing the incident as a "flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement." 

The army claimed it responded with tank fire and airstrikes, while Israeli media reported that the Southern Command was preparing to expand its operations.

Hamas rejected the Israeli account, stating in a press release that the attacks represent "a continuation of the war of extermination" and reflect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intent to sabotage the second phase of the ceasefire, particularly by obstructing the opening of the Rafah crossing. 

The movement described Israel's claims regarding the shooting as "a flimsy pretext to justify continued killing and aggression," calling on mediators and guarantor states to take action to stop the violations.
 

Rafah falters

Alongside the military escalation, Gaza's fragile health sector faced renewed crisis after the sudden cancellation of the third group of patients scheduled to travel through the Rafah crossing, despite its reopening two days prior as part of the ceasefire's second phase.

Raed al-Nims, spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, said in a press statement that Israel informed the organisation of a sudden Israeli decision to cancel patient travel without explanation. 

"Hours later, we were told the crossing would reopen," al-Nims said, "but until now, no patients have actually left Gaza for treatment."

Confusion continues to dominate the evacuation process, with no clear timetable or guarantees for the sustainability of medical transfers. 

Al-Nims noted that only 21 patients have been evacuated in the past two days in coordination with the World Health Organisation, while more than 20,000 Palestinians urgently need treatment abroad.

Inside Gaza, families waiting for permission to leave described the psychological toll of shifting decisions. 

Um Luay, whose son suffers from shrapnel lodged in his spine, told TNA that "they told us we would be travelling, so we prepared ourselves. Then it was suddenly cancelled." 

"Afterwards," she says, "we were told the crossing would open again, but nothing has changed. My son is in pain, and no one is answering us. We are trapped between decisions, and illness doesn’t wait."

Israeli media, meanwhile, cited the Israeli Broadcasting Authority as saying the disruption was caused by the World Health Organisation's failure to provide passenger data on time, insisting that Rafah was opened "in accordance with Israel's commitments"; a claim disputed by Palestinian health authorities on the ground.

Ceasefire as leverage

Political analysts believe that the combination of military escalation and humanitarian obstruction reflects a broader Israeli strategy of using both violence and civilian suffering as political leverage. 

Adnan Samarah, a Ramallah-based political analyst, told TNA that targeting displaced civilians while blocking medical evacuations shows that Israel "does not treat the ceasefire as a binding commitment. It views it as a bargaining chip that can be violated whenever it chooses."

He said that the lack of international pressure has emboldened further violations. "Without accountability, these attacks and obstructions will continue," he warned.

Gaza-based political analyst Ahed Farwana described the escalation as part of Netanyahu's attempt to impose new realities on the ground. 

"Obstructing the second phase of the agreement, especially the crossings," Farwana argued, "aims to reassert full control over Gaza and keep the Strip hostage to security and political blackmail."

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, more than 529 Palestinians have been killed and 1,462 wounded. 

The ministry said the overall death toll from the war has now exceeded 71,000, following a recent update that included victims recently identified.

With bombardment ongoing and humanitarian corridors uncertain, Gaza's residents face yet another day defined by fear and waiting.