An Israeli air strike killed a man, his wife, and their two daughters, aged 8 and 12, in a house in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, health officials said, after the Israeli military escalated bombardments over the past two days.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a ‘military structure’ and killed Muamen Ahmed, who it described as a military operative who had taken a direct part in combat against Israeli forces.
It gave no mention of a wife or children, but said Ahmed had recently been “advancing terror attacks” against Israeli forces.
Health officials and relatives in Gaza confirmed that Ahmed had been killed, but made no comment on his alleged activities.
At Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital, friends and relatives flocked to pay their respect as the white-shrouded bodies of the family members were laid on the ground before being taken to burials.
An October 2025, US-backed, ceasefire halted large-scale fighting, but it has not ended Israeli strikes and there has been little progress on steps towards permanent peace.
Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s broader plan to end the Gaza conflict, which includes the Israeli withdrawal from the strip and the disarmament of Hamas.
Israel says Hamas has been violating the deal.
The Israeli military struck at least six homes across Gaza in the past two days, causing damage to nearby houses and tent shelters and forcing many families to flee, residents and medics said.
Some owners of the houses, or their neighbours, got a call from the military ordering them to leave the area shortly before missiles struck the buildings, residents said.
The Israeli military did not comment directly on the strikes on houses, but said on Wednesday it had hit three areas across the Gaza Strip and dismantled three Hamas weapons storage facilities.
Ismail Al Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, denied Israeli allegations, saying that Israel’s targets were ‘the civilians and their homes’.
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