By Middle East Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Two Palestinians were killed and three others injured on Wednesday in a series of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, marking a new breach of last year’s ceasefire, according to medical sources.
Hatem Abu Saleh, a nurse at Nasser Hospital, was killed when an Israeli strike targeted him near areas under military control in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza. A second Palestinian was also killed by Israeli army fire in Bani Suheila. Two others, including a child, were injured in a drone strike in Khan Younis, while a third person sustained injuries from Israeli gunfire in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.
The attacks took place in areas from which Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, 2025.
Israeli artillery also targeted the northern Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza in the early hours of Wednesday. These strikes followed an Israeli army operation in Rafah that killed two Palestinians in what the army described as an exchange of fire.
Palestinians have repeatedly accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, which halted a conflict that has claimed more than 71,400 lives, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 since October 2023.
Since the truce, nearly 450 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,200 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel has also refused to reopen Gaza’s crossings despite a UN Security Council resolution in November 2025 calling for a permanent ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid, and reconstruction in the territory.
The UN has repeatedly warned of escalating humanitarian challenges in Gaza. Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesperson, stressed that insecurity, including airstrikes, shelling, and armed clashes, continues to rise, resulting in civilian casualties. He urged all parties to “seize the opportunity” to pursue a credible political path towards a two-state solution, while acknowledging that humanitarian aid delivered so far has not met the scale of need.
Medical sources reported that in the past 24 hours, 15 Palestinians were killed and taken to Gaza hospitals, including two new fatalities and 13 whose bodies were recovered. Several victims remain trapped under rubble due to ongoing rescue difficulties. Since the ceasefire on 10 October, a total of 449 Palestinians has been killed and 1,246 injured, with 710 bodies recovered.
Winter conditions have compounded the crisis, with 24 Palestinians, including 21 children, dying from extreme cold since October 2023. Seven children have died since the current winter began, and around 7,000 tents have been destroyed by ongoing storms. The Gaza media office warned of “catastrophic humanitarian consequences” for displaced Palestinians lacking heating, shelter, blankets, and winter clothing. It held Israel fully responsible for these deaths, describing the situation as part of a policy of “slow killing, starvation, and forced displacement.”
In the occupied West Bank, violence by illegal Jewish settlers continued unabated. On Wednesday, settlers uprooted olive trees east of the city of Tubas, a local source confirmed. Mukhles Massa‘id, head of the Khirbet Yarza Village Council, said the settlers stormed a locality known as the Khirba, destroying a Palestinian farmer’s crops.
Such settler attacks — including arson, stone-throwing, and property destruction — are routine in the West Bank and rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities. Approximately one million Israeli settlers live in colonies across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in violation of international law.
Al-Aqsa stormed by Israeli security minister
Meanwhile, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem under heavy police protection. Such incursions by Israeli ministers typically require prior approval, but Ben-Gvir has entered the compound around 14 times since taking office in early 2023. Palestinian authorities condemned the incursion, highlighting ongoing efforts by Israel and extremist settlers to Judaise East Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic heritage.
The Islamic Endowments Directorate reported that in 2025 alone, illegal settlers carried out 280 incursions into Al-Aqsa, including group prayers, Talmudic rituals, and open prostrations. These activities, protected by Israeli police, prevent Al-Aqsa guards from performing their duties and have coincided with attacks on Christian pilgrims at holy sites such as the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site for Muslims, sits in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1980 — a move never recognised by the international community.
[Photo: A view of displaced Palestinian children warming themselves around he fire, living in makeshift tents among the rubble in the Jabaliya area as families struggle to survive amid heavy winter conditions and freezing temperatures in Gaza City, Gaza, on January 14, 2026. Photojournalist: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/AA]
