Medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital confirmed that two people were killed in Beit Lahiya following the latest assault by the occupying regime.
The attack came after a night of relentless bombardment that left more than 100 Palestinians dead, including at least 46 children, across the devastated enclave.
The Israeli regime’s renewed strikes came despite its public declaration of returning to a truce reached in October with the Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas.
“It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war – it can’t be both. The children couldn’t sleep; they thought the war was over,” said Khadija al-Husni, a displaced mother sheltering with her children at a school in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp.
She said the assault struck as residents had “started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the civilian casualties and warned that peace must not “slip from our grasp.”
Mediators in Qatar voiced frustration but said efforts were continuing to implement the next phase of the ceasefire, including discussions on the disarmament of Hamas.
The resistance group warned that ongoing Israeli violations would obstruct efforts to recover captives and the bodies of the dead.
In a separate move, the Israeli regime barred Red Cross officials from visiting Palestinian detainees, claiming the visits posed a “security risk.”
Hamas denounced the decision, calling it a breach of prisoners’ rights and “part of the systematic and criminal violations they are subjected to,” including killings, torture, and starvation.
Tel Aviv, which continues to strike Gaza in breach of the truce, blamed Hamas for violating the agreement after an alleged attack on Israeli troops in Rafah killed one soldier. Hamas denied the claim, holding the regime responsible for reigniting hostilities.
Hamas urged guarantor nations — Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States — to immediately pressure the Israeli regime to halt its assaults on civilians, stop its violations of the ceasefire, and comply fully with the terms of the agreement.