Israeli Bombardment Kills 29 Across Gaza Despite Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 29 Palestinians on Saturday, underscoring the fragility of a ceasefire that took effect in early October. The attacks, which struck residential buildings, displacement camps, and a police station, add to a mounting toll that Palestinian officials say now stands at 524 killed and 1,360 wounded since the truce began.

The pattern of strikes illustrates a widening gap between the ceasefire’s stated intent and conditions on the ground, where military operations continue across densely populated areas.

In Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, an airstrike hit a residential apartment, killing five people, including three children and two women, according to medical sources cited by Anadolu. Another strike in the al-Tuffah neighborhood injured several civilians.

Israeli fighter jets also struck al-Jalaa Street northwest of Gaza City and areas east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, where no casualties were reported. Each location lies within urban zones where displaced families remain concentrated following months of bombardment.

Strikes on Displacement Sites

In southern Gaza, seven members of one family were killed when an airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Asdaa area northwest of Khan Younis. Paramedics at Nasser Hospital said the victims included a man, his three sons, and three young grandchildren.

Another strike targeted the administration building of the Ghaith camp in the Al-Mawasi area, which shelters hundreds of displaced civilians. The Palestinian Civil Defense said fires broke out among the tents following the attack, damaging or destroying several shelters despite an evacuation warning issued beforehand.

A separate strike hit the Sheikh Radwan police station west of Gaza City. Medical sources said 13 Palestinians were killed, including four female police officers, with search operations continuing for people believed trapped under rubble. Gaza’s Interior Ministry confirmed casualties among police personnel.

Elsewhere, three Palestinians were killed when a house in the al-Nasr neighborhood was struck, and another man was shot dead by Israeli gunfire east of Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Competing Narratives, Expanding Toll

The Israeli army said it targeted four members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and struck infrastructure linked to the two groups. Palestinian authorities contest that framing, pointing to civilian casualties and repeated strikes on residential and displacement sites. Since the ceasefire, Gaza’s media office says Israel has carried out 1,450 violations and arrested 50 Palestinians, including from residential areas far from the designated “yellow line.”

The broader context remains stark. In late January, Israel’s military acknowledged Gaza Health Ministry figures estimating about 71,000 Palestinians killed since the war began in October 2023, according to Haaretz. The Israel Defense Forces said the total does not include people missing under rubble.

The two-year conflict has wounded more than 171,400 Palestinians and destroyed roughly 90 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, with United Nations estimates placing reconstruction costs near $70 billion.

“Security Control” Doctrine

Political signals from Israel’s leadership reinforce the military posture. On January 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel will maintain security control from the Jordan River to the sea - and this applies to the Gaza Strip as well.”

The statement aligns with continued air operations despite the ceasefire and with restrictions on humanitarian access. Palestinian officials say only 28,927 aid, commercial, and fuel trucks have entered Gaza since October, out of 66,600 stipulated under the agreement, a compliance rate of 43 percent.