An Israeli airstrike in central Gaza killed at least three people, including a child, on Tuesday, Gaza health officials said. The strike hit a vehicle in Khan Younis, Gaza’s largest city, and wounded dozens. It was part of a series of raids that Israel has carried out in Gaza during its war with Iran and Hezbollah. Health authorities report that in the past week alone, Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians, including 12 police officers in one attack last Sunday.
Israel’s military says it targets only “terror operatives,” but Palestinian officials say even women and children have died in recent raids. The surge in Gaza strikes comes amid wider regional conflict. On Tuesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will strike Iran’s operatives wherever they hide, in a message timed to Iran’s new year. “Happy New Year… but we are watching from above,” he said.
The timing is raising diplomatic alarms. U.S. officials had been working behind the scenes to extend the Gaza ceasefire signed last October, even as President Trump’s transition team discusses a postwar Gaza plan. Three sources told Reuters that U.S. “Board of Peace” envoys met Hamas representatives in Cairo to protect that truce. But Palestinian leaders said Israel’s latest strikes risk collapsing the agreement. “Israel is exploiting this war to avoid its obligations,” a Hamas official said.
For the region and the world, the key question is whether Gaza will continue to be linked to the war with Iran. Each new flare-up could draw in outside powers or stoke unrest in nearby countries.