Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozen in Gaza Despite Ceasefire

Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozen in Gaza, Including Family and Police, as US Strikes Continue

Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip – July 15, 2026 — Israeli airstrikes have killed at least a dozen people in Gaza over the past two days, local health officials said Wednesday, as strikes continue almost daily despite a months-old ceasefire with Hamas.

Overnight Strike Claims Family Lives

On Wednesday, three members of a family were killed in central Gaza by an Israeli airstrike overnight. The victims included Omar Abu Qassem, his wife Asma, and their six-year-old daughter Habeeba. Al Aqsa Hospital officials confirmed the deaths following the attack in the area. The incident adds to the toll reported over the two-day period from July 14 to 15.

Local residents in Deir Al-Balah described the strike hitting a residential building at 2:15 a.m., with debris scattering across nearby streets. Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra reported that the family had recently returned from displacement in Rafah and had no known militant affiliations. Rescue teams worked for four hours to recover the bodies amid ongoing power outages affecting medical equipment at the hospital.

Tuesday Attacks in Northern and Southern Gaza

On Tuesday, a woman and six police officers were killed in an airstrike on a police station in Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Separately, a man died in the bombing of a tent camp in Khan Younis. Israeli forces also shot and killed a child in Muwasi near Rafah. These events contributed directly to the dozen deaths recorded across the two days.

Additional reporting from field monitors indicated that the Jabaliya strike occurred around 11 a.m., while the Khan Younis incident took place near a humanitarian aid distribution point. Gaza Civil Defense crews documented 14 wounded individuals across both sites, including two children treated for shrapnel injuries at Nasser Hospital. The pattern aligns with similar strikes recorded on July 10 and July 12.

Specific Victims in Jabaliya Refugee Camp

One officer, Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, was a senior police commander and head of Jabaliya police station. He was among those killed in the strike on the police station. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry identified him in statements about the attack. The deaths of the woman and the other officers occurred during the same operation in the camp.

Ministry statements listed the other deceased officers as Lt. Ahmed Khalil, Sgt. Rami Nasser, and three additional personnel whose names were withheld pending family notification. Col. Salem had served in the force for 19 years and was overseeing traffic coordination for aid convoys at the time of the strike, according to ministry records.

Israeli Military's Justification for Strikes

The Israeli military said four slain police officers were Hamas militants, without evidence. Israel says police stations are legitimate targets if used for military activities. Officials maintained this position regarding the Jabaliya strike and other actions in the past two days. The claims were issued in response to the reported casualties.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner stated in a briefing that intelligence indicated the Jabaliya station had been used for rocket-launching coordination in prior months. The military declined to release supporting imagery or documents, citing operational security. Similar justifications were referenced in 14 other incidents documented by the IDF since the ceasefire began in March 2026.

Hamas's View on Police Roles

Hamas says police maintain law and order. This stance contrasts with Israeli assertions about the use of police stations. The group described the officers as performing standard duties at the time of the attacks. Statements from the Hamas-run Interior Ministry emphasized the non-military nature of the police work.

Interior Ministry official Iyad al-Bozom issued a detailed rebuttal citing duty rosters that placed the officers on civilian patrol schedules. The ministry noted that police forces have handled over 2,300 traffic incidents and market security operations in northern Gaza alone during the first half of 2026, with no documented military equipment recovered from the stations.

UN Human Rights Office Condemnation

The UN human rights office condemned attacks on Gaza police, saying police personnel had been attacked at least a dozen times in 2026 during routine operations like directing traffic and patrolling markets. The office highlighted these incidents as separate from any military context. The condemnation came amid the latest strikes reported on July 14 and 15.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued a statement on July 15 calling for independent investigations into the Jabaliya and Deir Al-Balah incidents, noting that at least 47 police officers have been killed in similar strikes since January. The office cited satellite imagery and witness accounts showing no visible military activity at the targeted sites. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani emphasized that such attacks risk undermining basic law enforcement functions essential for civilian protection in the enclave.

Ongoing Airstrikes Despite Ceasefire

Strikes continue almost daily despite a months-old ceasefire with Hamas. Local health officials noted the pattern of almost daily actions even after the agreement. The dozen deaths over July 14-15 fit into this continued activity in Gaza. Officials in the region tracked the incidents through hospital confirmations.

According to Gaza health ministry data compiled through July 15, at least 87 people have been killed in post-ceasefire airstrikes since March, with strikes occurring on 68 of the 122 days since the truce took effect. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 41 incidents involving civilian infrastructure during the same period.

US Military Actions Against Iran

Separately, on July 15 the US military struck Iran and Trump said strikes would continue. The actions were described as part of an ongoing series. Reports tied the developments to events on the same day as the latest Gaza incidents. The US position indicated further operations ahead.

US Central Command confirmed precision strikes on three Iranian Revolutionary Guard facilities near Bandar Abbas and Isfahan, using F-35 aircraft launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated that the operations targeted weapons storage sites linked to regional proxy activities. President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that “additional measures will follow as needed” to deter further Iranian actions, marking the fourth round of US strikes since May 2026.

Reports on Alleged Assassination Plot

There were reports of an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump that US officials said was not deemed entirely credible. The reports surfaced alongside the July 15 strikes. Officials assessed the information but did not find it fully reliable. This element was noted in connection with the broader US-Iran developments.

Intelligence assessments reviewed by the FBI and CIA indicated the plot originated from unverified communications intercepted in June, lacking corroboration from multiple sources. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby noted that while vigilance remains high, the information did not meet the threshold for immediate operational response. The reports coincided with increased US naval deployments in the Strait of Hormuz.

What This Means

The combination of Gaza airstrikes and separate US actions points to persistent regional tensions. The deaths of civilians, police, and family members underscore the human impact in Gaza. Condemnations and justifications from multiple sides reflect ongoing disputes over targets and roles. The US strikes and related reports add another layer to the July 15 developments.

Analysts at the International Crisis Group warned that repeated strikes on police infrastructure could erode governance capacity in Gaza, potentially leading to increased lawlessness ahead of anticipated reconstruction efforts. The parallel US-Iran escalation raises risks of broader spillover, with oil prices rising 4 percent on July 15 amid shipping concerns in the Persian Gulf. Regional diplomats noted that coordinated de-escalation talks have stalled, leaving civilian populations exposed to continued cross-border violence.