By International Affairs Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Six Palestinians, including a woman, were killed and at least five others injured on Friday after Israeli artillery shelled a school being used as a shelter in Gaza City, in what Palestinian officials described as the latest breach of a ceasefire agreement.
Medical sources said the victims’ bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza after Israeli forces struck the shelter in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, in the eastern part of the city. Witnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli tank advanced into the area before firing shells directly at the building.
According to those present, Israeli forces prevented ambulances and civil defence crews from reaching the site for more than two hours. The shelling took place as a wedding celebration was under way inside the shelter.
The area targeted was among those from which Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement in force in the Gaza Strip since October 10.
Palestinian authorities have repeatedly accused Israel of violating the truce that halted a two-year war which has killed nearly 70,700 people, most of them women and children, and wounded more than 171,000 others since October 2023. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 395 people have been killed and 1,088 wounded in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire came into effect.
Despite the continued violence, UN agencies said on Friday that the immediate risk of famine in Gaza had been pushed back, while warning that gains remain fragile and could quickly unravel without sustained humanitarian access.
The Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization said hunger, malnutrition, disease and the destruction of agricultural infrastructure remain “alarmingly high” across the enclave.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, no area in Gaza is currently classified as facing famine following the ceasefire signed in October. However, between October 16 and November 30, around 1.6 million people, 77% of the population analysed, experienced acute food insecurity classified as IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse.
The analysis found that more than half a million people were living in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4), while over 100,000 faced Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5), the most severe classification.
Although improved food inflows and a proposed peace plan have helped ease the most extreme conditions, the IPC warned that the outlook remains grave. From December 1 until April 15, 2026, around 1.6 million people are still expected to face “Crisis or worse” levels of food insecurity, including an estimated 571,000 people in Emergency conditions and about 1,900 in Catastrophe.
The nutrition situation has also shown some improvement but remains deeply concerning. Nearly 101,000 children aged six to 59 months are expected to suffer acute malnutrition across Gaza through mid-October 2026, including more than 31,000 severe cases.
During the same period, an estimated 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also projected to require treatment for acute malnutrition.
UN agencies said that while the ceasefire has allowed greater deliveries of food and basic supplies, displacement, damaged infrastructure and limited access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation continue to leave most families struggling. As a result, 79% of households remain unable to access adequate food or clean water.
“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,” said UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Operations, Lucia Elmi, calling for sustained humanitarian access and a lasting peace.
Israeli continues attacks in West Bank
Meanwhile, violence continued in the occupied West Bank, where three Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire and four others detained during raids on Friday, according to medics and witnesses.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams treated two people wounded during an Israeli raid on Al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah. Witnesses said Israeli forces took up positions among residential buildings, firing live ammunition and tear gas.
A third Palestinian was injured in the leg by Israeli fire near the separation wall in the town of Al-Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, the Red Crescent added.
In Beit Furik, east of Nablus, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians after confrontations with illegal settlers who had stormed farmland and attempted to attack local farmers, witnesses said.
Separately, Israeli occupation forces raided Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, triggering clashes after military vehicles entered the town, according to local sources cited by WAFA. Soldiers fired concussion grenades and tear gas, though no injuries were reported.
The forces later stormed the nearby town of al-Khader, with no immediate information on casualties or house raids.
Israeli forces routinely carry out near-daily raids on Palestinian communities across the West Bank under the pretext of searching for “wanted” individuals. These operations are conducted without warrants, under sweeping powers granted by Israeli military law.
Under this system, army commanders exercise full executive, legislative and judicial authority over roughly three million Palestinians living under occupation.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,097 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, wounded nearly 11,000 others and detained around 21,000, according to Palestinian figures.
Last July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
European countries concerned over US sanctions on ICC judges
International tensions also rose on Friday after several European countries voiced concern over new US sanctions imposed on two judges of the International Criminal Court, reaffirming their support for the court’s independence.
Finland’s foreign ministry said on X that it “deeply regrets” the US decision, stressing that the ICC must be able to function freely. France said it had taken note of the sanctions and urged Washington to withdraw all measures taken against the court.
“France condemns all forms of threats and coercive measures against the ICC, its staff and civil society organizations supporting the court,” the French foreign ministry said, warning that the sanctions amounted to an attack on both the institution and the 125 states party to the Rome Statute.
Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, said the move “further undermine[s] judicial independence and efforts to fight impunity”.
“Belgium strongly regrets the new additional sanctions of the US against two judges of the @IntlCrimCourt,” he wrote on X, adding that Brussels would continue to support the court in carrying out its mandate independently and impartially.
Denmark also said it “deeply regrets” the US decision, while Spain, the Netherlands and Norway voiced similar concerns.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Thursday against ICC judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, accusing them of being “directly engaged” in “the illegitimate targeting of Israel”.
The ICC responded by saying it “strongly rejects” the sanctions, describing them as a “flagrant attack” on the independence of an impartial judicial institution.
The measures follow earlier US sanctions against ICC officials involved in authorising arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 70,600 people, most of them women and children, and injured more than 171,100 others, according to Palestinian health authorities, despite a ceasefire being signed in October.
[Photo: Close relatives of the six Palestinians, including children, who were killed by Israeli artillery shelling a school-turned shelter in eastern Gaza City, despite the ceasefire, mourn as dead bodies brought to the al-Shifa Hospital for burial in Gaza City, Gaza on December 20, 2025. Photojournalist: Khames Alrefi/AA]
