Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians, including a 9-year-old boy, in the Gaza Strip yesterday, health officials said.
Medics said an Israeli drone killed the child, Adel Al Najjar, in eastern Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, while an Israeli air strike targeted a vehicle in Gaza City, killing four people.
Regarding the strike in Khan Younis, the Israeli military said it had targeted an individual who posed a threat to Israeli troops by approaching the “yellow line” that demarcates the part of Gaza occupied by Israel. It did not provide evidence that the individual had posed any threat.
At Nasser Hospital’s morgue, relatives arrived to bid farewell to Najjar’s small, white-shrouded body.
Women cried next to the body, which lay on a medical stretcher on the floor, and men held a special prayer before carrying him to the cemetery for burial.
The boy was collecting cardboard that the family uses for cooking, relatives said. There has been no electricity in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, and Palestinians have complained of Israeli restrictions on the entry of cooking gas.
“We don’t have gas. We collect cardboard to bake, they want to eat; they want to drink,” said one of the boy’s relatives, Sabreen Al Najjar.
Violence in Gaza has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks on Palestinians.
At least 800 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says attacks have killed four of its soldiers over the same period. Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for ceasefire violations.
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