Six Palestinians were killed, and at least five others were injured on Friday after Israeli artillery shelled a school being used as a shelter in Gaza City, Palestinian officials said. The attack was described as the latest breach of the ceasefire that has been in place since October 10. Medical sources reported that the victims’ bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza following the strike in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, in the eastern part of the city. Witnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli tank had advanced into the area before firing directly at the building.
Those present said that Israeli forces blocked ambulances and civil defence crews from reaching the site for over two hours. The shelling occurred during a wedding celebration inside the shelter. The area targeted had previously been vacated by Israeli forces under the October ceasefire agreement. Palestinian authorities have repeatedly accused Israel of violating the truce that ended a two-year conflict, which has left nearly 70,700 people dead, most of them women and children, and more than 171,000 injured since October 2023. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 395 people have been killed and 1,088 wounded in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect.
Gaza’s Hunger Crisis Is Still Critical
Despite ongoing violence, UN agencies said that the immediate risk of famine in Gaza has been pushed back. However, they warned that progress remains fragile, with hunger, malnutrition, disease, and the destruction of agricultural infrastructure still alarmingly high.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, no area in Gaza currently faces famine. Yet, between October 16 and November 30, approximately 1.6 million people, or 77% of the analysed population, experienced acute food insecurity at Crisis levels (IPC Phase 3) or worse. Over half a million people lived in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4), while more than 100,000 faced Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5), the most severe classification.
From December 1 until April 15, 2026, around 1.6 million people are still expected to face “Crisis or worse” food insecurity, including an estimated 571,000 in Emergency conditions and about 1,900 in Catastrophe. The nutrition situation remains critical, with nearly 101,000 children aged six to 59 months projected to suffer acute malnutrition through mid-October 2026, including over 31,000 severe cases. Around 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition.
UN agencies emphasized that while the ceasefire has improved food and basic supply deliveries, displaced populations, damaged infrastructure, and limited access to healthcare, clean water, and sanitation leave most families struggling. Nearly 79% of households remain unable to access adequate food or clean water. UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Operations, Lucia Elmi, stated: “Gaza’s children are no longer facing deadly famine, but they remain in grave danger. After more than two years of unrelenting conflict, children’s bodies and developing brains carry deep, lasting scars.”
Violence Continues in the West Bank
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, three Palestinians were injured and four others detained during Israeli raids on Friday, medics and witnesses reported. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society treated two people wounded in an Israeli raid on Al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas from positions among residential buildings.
A third Palestinian was injured in the leg near the separation wall in Al-Ram, northeast of Jerusalem. In Beit Furik, east of Nablus, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians after confrontations with illegal settlers. Separately, raids in Beit Fajjar and al-Khader triggered clashes, though no injuries were reported.
Israeli forces regularly conduct near-daily raids in West Bank communities under military law, granting commanders extensive powers over roughly three million Palestinians living under occupation. Since October 2023, at least 1,097 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with nearly 11,000 injured and around 21,000 detained, Palestinian authorities reported.
Last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
International Tensions Over ICC Sanctions
International concern also grew on Friday after the US imposed sanctions on two judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC). European countries, including France, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, and Norway, criticized the move as undermining judicial independence and violating the court’s mandate.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions against judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, accusing them of targeting Israel illegitimately. The ICC condemned the sanctions as a “flagrant attack” on the independence of an impartial judicial institution.
The sanctions follow earlier US measures against ICC officials who authorised arrest warrants for Israeli officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Source: PBS News, The Muslim News – Image Credit: Getty Images
