Israeli Strikes Kill Seven Palestinians Amid Ceasefire Violations

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least seven Palestinians, including a child, across the Gaza Strip on July 7, 2026. The attacks targeted Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah. In Khan Younis, strikes in the Mawasi area targeted Hamas militants and killed senior Popular Resistance Committees leader Waheed Abu Salem. Other casualties included Imran Abu Jarad, killed near a tent encampment in western Gaza City, and Mohammad Al-Waheidi, the Public Relations Director of the Egyptian Committee in the Gaza Strip.

These actions occur during a U.S.-mediated ceasefire established in October 2025. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, maintains that Israeli troops will not withdraw from the buffer zones they patrol. While Hamas claims Israel has violated the agreement, U.S. envoy Nikolay Mladenov stated that both sides have committed violations. Since the ceasefire began eight months ago, over 1,070 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed. Military operations continued on July 8 with artillery shelling in Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps and residential demolitions.

Simultaneously, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory demanded the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been detained since December 2024. UN officials allege Abu Safiya was subjected to torture and that his health is in imminent danger. The Israel Prison Service rejected these claims, calling them "false, outrageous, and entirely without factual basis."