Child at home in Gaza killed by Israeli fire as post-ceasefire deaths mount

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A relative said Israeli gunfire on Thursday killed an 11-year-old girl whose family had returned to a designated safe zone, adding to more than 400 deaths reported since a ceasefire was reached to halt fighting in Gaza nearly three months ago.

After shells and shrapnel hit her home in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya area, Hamsa Housou was taken to Shifa Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Outside the hospital mortuary, her uncle Khamis Housou told The Associated Press that the family had returned home on Oct. 11, a day after the ceasefire went into effect.

Housou, who said his niece had dreams of becoming a doctor, told how early on Thursday he heard screams as Israeli troops combed the area where shells and shrapnel hit. He ran from his apartment toward the home where Hamsa lived and found her lying on the floor.

He carried the girl to the nearest clinic, only to find the ambulance there had a flat tire. They waited about 15 minutes, he said, before taking her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

“They say that there is a ceasefire and that the war on Gaza has stopped. Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and fire belts?” he asked. “Shooting does not stop. Where is the ceasefire?"

Khamis Housou said that Falluja, the neighborhood in Jabaliya where the family lives, has been subjected to daily shooting by Israeli troops despite being on the western side of the yellow ceasefire line.

Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It has previously said that military actions since the ceasefire began have been in response to violations of the agreement.

At least 424 Palestinians have been killed in the nearly three months since the ceasefire took effect, Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, said Tuesday.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rose to at least 71,391, the ministry said, with another 171,279 wounded.

The phased ceasefire agreement remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage in Gaza. Israel's Hostages and Missing Families Forum said on Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili. The 24-year-old police officer was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that triggered the war.

Metz reported from Jerusalem. Bassem Mroue contributed reporting from Beirut.