Two boys were killed on Saturday in southern Gaza after an Israeli strike hit the area where they were collecting firewood, according to local medics and relatives. The attack took place east of Khan Younis and came despite a ceasefire that has remained unstable since early October.
The deaths of the brothers, identified as ten year old Fadi Abu Assi and twelve year old Goma Abu Assi, underline the continued risk to civilians as limited clashes and airstrikes persist across the enclave. Their family said the boys were helping gather fuel for their father, who uses a wheelchair.
Their uncle, Mohamed Abu Assi, told Reuters that an Israeli drone fired at the boys while they were gathering wood for the household. They are children, what did they do, he said during the funeral. They do not have missiles or bombs, they went to gather wood for their father so he can start a fire.
During the burial, the boys’ father wept over one of the bodies, which was wrapped in a white shroud with the face exposed for mourners.
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Health authorities in Gaza say at least three hundred fifty four Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on October ten. Israeli officials report that three soldiers have died during the same period after coming under fire from Palestinian fighters.
Before the ceasefire, Israel’s campaign in Gaza had already caused extensive destruction and widespread casualties. Health officials say more than sixty nine thousand Palestinians have been killed since the start of the offensive, most of them civilians. Entire neighbourhoods have been flattened, and infrastructure remains heavily damaged.
Israel launched the operation after the Hamas led attack on October seven twenty twenty three, when about one thousand two hundred people were killed and roughly two hundred fifty others were taken into Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Although the ceasefire is still in place, periodic strikes, exchanges of fire and shifting front line conditions have kept civilians in danger. Aid groups say relief operations continue to struggle due to access restrictions and repeated flare ups of violence.
International mediators are expected to continue pushing for longer quiet periods and expanded humanitarian access as conditions in the territory worsen.