Israeli Attacks Kill 3 Palestinians in Gaza as Ceasefire Violations Mount

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians and wounded several others in separate attacks across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a medical source told Anadolu, in the latest breach of a ceasefire that has failed to end the daily threat of death for civilians in the enclave.

Israeli Attacks Kill 3 Palestinians in Gaza as Ceasefire Violations Mount

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 3 September 2026 — One Palestinian was killed and two others were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting a group of civilians in central Gaza City, according to a medical source who spoke to Anadolu. In separate incidents, Israeli army gunfire killed two Palestinians in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, and wounded another in a camp for displaced people in the Hamad residential area north of Khan Younis. The attacks come nearly 11 months after a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, a truce that has not shielded Palestinians from continued military operations, airstrikes, and live fire.

Drone Strike in Gaza City Leaves Victim ‘Heavily Disfigured’

A medical source at Al-Shifa Hospital told Anadolu that the body of the deceased victim from the Gaza City strike arrived at the facility heavily disfigured. The strike targeted a gathering of civilians on Al-Thawra Street, a thoroughfare in the heart of the city, according to preliminary medical reports.

Two other Palestinians were injured in the same attack, the source said. An Anadolu correspondent on the ground confirmed that the Israeli drone had targeted a gathering of civilians in the area, underscoring the persistent danger faced by residents even in urban settings far from the front lines of the conflict.

The strike on Al-Thawra Street is the latest in a series of attacks that have become a near-daily occurrence despite the ceasefire framework agreed upon in late 2025. For Palestinians in Gaza City, the sound of drones has become a constant companion, a reminder that the truce has not translated into safety.

Two Killed in Beit Lahia as Forces Open Fire on Tents

In an earlier attack, a medical source said Israeli army gunfire killed one Palestinian and wounded others in Beit Lahia, a town in the northern Gaza Strip that has seen repeated incursions and shelling since the war began. A second Palestinian was later killed when Israeli forces opened fire on tents housing displaced Palestinians and homes in the area, the source added.

The targeting of tents is particularly alarming, as it indicates that even temporary shelters for displaced families are not off-limits. Beit Lahia has been heavily depopulated and damaged over the course of the conflict, with many residents living in makeshift accommodations after their homes were destroyed.

The Israeli army acknowledged killing a Palestinian in northern Gaza, claiming in a statement that its forces had spotted an “armed individual who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in a way that posed an immediate threat.” It was not immediately clear whether the Palestinian killed in the army’s account was one of the two people whose deaths were reported by the medical source in Beit Lahia.

Khan Younis: Displaced Camp Targeted in Hamad Area

In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, a medical source at Nasser Hospital said a Palestinian was wounded by Israeli army gunfire inside a camp for displaced people in the Hamad residential area, north of the city. The Hamad area, a housing development that was once marketed as a luxury project, now hosts families who have lost their homes elsewhere in the Strip.

The wounded individual was transported to Nasser Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in southern Gaza capable of treating trauma cases. Medical staff at the hospital have repeatedly reported receiving casualties from incidents involving Israeli forces, despite the ceasefire.

The incident in Hamad highlights the precarious situation of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have sought refuge in designated areas, only to find that these locations are not immune from military operations.

UN: 24 Killed in Five Days, Including Four Children and a Woman

In a statement, the UN human rights office said that at least 24 Palestinians, including four children and a woman, were killed in Israeli attacks over a five-day period between Aug. 28 and Sept. 1. The office emphasized that Gaza remains unsafe although it has been nearly a year since the announcement of a ceasefire.

“There is no safe place, nor safe person, in Gaza,” the office noted, in a stark assessment of the conditions facing the enclave’s population of roughly two million people.

According to the statement, 21 of the 24 Palestinians killed were killed in airstrikes. The figures, compiled from preliminary information, paint a picture of relentless violence that has continued unabated despite international calls for restraint and the existence of a formal truce.

Raid in Al-Katiba Area Kills Child, Teenager, and Two Adults

According to preliminary information cited in the UN report, Israeli forces carried out a raid on Sept. 1 in the Al-Katiba area, west of Gaza City. The raid resulted in the deaths of a 3-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy, and a 31-year-old man. The fourth victim of the raid was a 49-year-old woman, who was killed while Israeli forces were detaining her 51-year-old husband, Muin Al-Arbeed.

The UN office noted that Al-Arbeed holds the rank of colonel in the internal security service of the de facto authority in Gaza. The circumstances of the raid, in which a woman was killed during her husband’s detention, raise serious questions about the conduct of Israeli forces during arrest operations.

The killing of a 3-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy in the same raid underscores the disproportionate toll that such operations take on civilian families. Children, who make up a significant portion of Gaza’s population, have been among the most affected by the ongoing violence.

International Law Obligations and the ‘Daily Life of Horror’

The UN human rights office stressed that Israel’s claims of targeting individuals it deems “lawful targets” do not absolve it of its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the duty to respect the right to life for Palestinians. The office emphasized that such claims “do not justify the daily life of horror experienced by Palestinians in Gaza.”

The statement called for an end to the bloodshed and demanded justice and accountability for all unlawful killings in the enclave. Under international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict must distinguish between combatants and civilians at all times, and any attack that does not respect this principle may constitute a war crime.

The UN’s repeated documentation of civilian deaths, including children, in attacks that Israel describes as targeting individuals raises concerns about the interpretation and application of the rules of engagement. The office’s language — referring to a “daily life of horror” — reflects the reality for Palestinians who have endured nearly three years of conflict and displacement.

Ceasefire Violations: 1,334 Killed Since October 2025

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. The offensive continued for two years, causing widespread destruction, while Israeli violations have persisted despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli violations have killed 1,334 Palestinians and wounded 4,429 others, while rescue teams have recovered hundreds of bodies from beneath the rubble, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The figures indicate that the ceasefire, while halting the full-scale offensive, has not ended the killing. On average, more than four Palestinians have been killed per week since the truce began, a rate of death that would be considered unacceptable in any other context but has drawn limited international response.

Rescue teams continue to recover bodies from beneath the rubble of buildings destroyed during the two-year offensive, a grim task that has extended well beyond the cessation of major hostilities. The Health Ministry’s data, collected from hospitals and medical facilities across the Strip, represents the most comprehensive record of the conflict’s toll.

Overall Toll: 73,470 Killed Since October 2023

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed about 73,470 Palestinians and wounded 174,540 others since October 2023, the ministry said Thursday. These figures include the deaths recorded since the ceasefire, indicating that the conflict’s human cost continues to rise even in its current, less intense phase.

The scale of the death toll — equivalent to more than three percent of Gaza’s pre-war population — has no parallel in recent conflicts. The widespread destruction of housing, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure has rendered much of the Strip uninhabitable, and reconstruction efforts have been slow to materialize.

For the families of those killed on Thursday, the ceasefire has offered little comfort. The deaths in Gaza City, Beit Lahia, and Khan Younis are a reminder that the truce is a fragile document, one that has not been able to protect civilians from the violence that continues to define their daily existence.

As the international community marks the approaching first anniversary of the ceasefire, the UN’s call for justice and accountability resonates with particular urgency. Without a mechanism to enforce the terms of the truce and hold violators accountable, the people of Gaza face an uncertain future, one in which the threat of death remains ever-present.

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Middle East Monitor; Anadolu Agency; UN Human Rights Office; Gaza Health Ministry.

By Fatima Al-Rashid, Staff Writer