Two Palestinians killed in Gaza City as ceasefire violations escalate

Israeli gunfire once again tore through the fragile calm in the Gaza Strip, killing at least two Palestinians as ceasefire violations continued to mount and lifesaving aid remained tightly choked off from the besieged enclave, the Al Jazeera reported.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces opened fire in the Shujayea neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City on Monday, claiming two lives. Their deaths added to a grim toll of at least 12 Palestinians reported killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours, including eight bodies pulled from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes.

The latest bloodshed underscores what Palestinian authorities describe as a relentless erosion of a United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on 10 October. Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israel of “serious and systematic violations” of the truce, stating that it has been breached 875 times since its inception.

These violations, the office said, include sustained air and artillery attacks, unlawful demolitions of civilian homes and infrastructure, and at least 265 incidents in which Israeli troops allegedly opened fire on Palestinian civilians. Since the ceasefire began, at least 411 Palestinians have been killed and 1,112 wounded in Israeli attacks, it added.

Beyond the violence, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continues to deepen. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families displaced by Israel’s devastating war remain trapped in a daily struggle for survival, facing acute shortages of food, medicine and shelter. Aid agencies say Israel, as the occupying power, is legally bound under international law to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s population — an obligation it has repeatedly failed to meet.

The situation has been further aggravated by harsh winter storms battering the coastal strip. Rights groups warn that Israel’s refusal to allow in tents, blankets and other essential supplies has left families exposed to cold, flooding and disease, pushing already vulnerable lives closer to the brink.

On Monday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said only 17,819 aid trucks had entered the territory since the ceasefire began — less than half of the 43,800 that were supposed to be allowed through. This translates to an average of just 244 trucks a day, far short of the 600 daily aid trucks Israel had committed to permit under the agreement, the Al Jazeera reported.

The United Nations renewed its call for an immediate lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian access. “Over the past 24 hours, and despite the ceasefire, we have continued to receive reports of air strikes, shelling and gunfire across all five governorates of Gaza,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, noting that the violence has caused casualties and disrupted aid operations.

Humanitarian partners, he said, are scrambling to meet vast shelter needs, particularly among displaced families living in unsafe and flood-prone areas. Around 1.3 million people require dignified shelter, with at least 3,500 families directly affected by recent storms.

While aid deliveries have included tents, bedding, mattresses, blankets and winter clothing for children, Dujarric warned that the scale of need remains overwhelming.

The strain is especially acute in Gaza’s shattered healthcare system. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies is hampering treatment for patients, even as hospitals struggle to function after widespread destruction.

Nearly all of Gaza’s medical facilities have been attacked during Israel’s two-year bombardment, with at least 125 healthcare sites damaged, including 34 hospitals.

Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 70,937 Palestinians in Gaza — the vast majority women and children — and injured another 171,192, leaving behind a landscape of devastation, grief and an unrelenting humanitarian catastrophe.