Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed five Palestinians, including a 9-year-old boy, on Tuesday, health officials said.
According to doctors, an Israeli drone killed the child, Adel Al-Najjar, in eastern Khan Younis, south of the enclave, while an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle in Gaza City, killing four people.
Regarding the attack in Khan Younis, the Israeli Army said the target was an individual who posed a threat to Israeli troops as he approached the ‘yellow line’ demarcating the area occupied by Israel. The Israelis provided no evidence that the individual posed any threat.
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Still according to the Israeli Army, the attack in Gaza City targeted what it called a ‘terrorist’, without providing evidence.
At the Nasser Hospital morgue, relatives arrived to say goodbye to Najjar’s small, white-wrapped body.
Women cried beside the boy, placed on a medical stretcher on the ground, and men said a special prayer before taking 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 start of the war in October 2023, and Palestinians complain about Israeli restrictions on the entry of cooking gas.
‘We don’t have gas. We collect cardboard to bake, they want to eat it; they want to drink,’ said one of the boy’s relatives, Sabreen Al-Najjar.
Violence in Gaza persists despite the October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel carrying out almost daily attacks against Palestinians.
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At least 800 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into force, according to local doctors, while Israel says militant attacks have killed four of its soldiers in the same period.
‘Isn’t it shameful what is happening to us? Isn’t it shameful that we bury our children every day, right in front of us? Isn’t it shameful? I swear to God, our hearts are breaking for these children,’ said another relative, Suhaib Al-Najjar, at the morgue.
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for ceasefire violations.
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More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, according to Gaza health officials.
Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli records.
