A night of strikes and gunfire in Gaza left fresh grief on the ground — including the death of a nine-year-old girl — even as mediators pressed ahead with talks aimed at protecting a US-brokered ceasefire, Palestinian health officials said.
Medics said Israeli gunfire hit a tent encampment on the eastern edge of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of the incident.
In Gaza City, an airstrike on a metal foundry in the Sabra neighbourhood killed four people.
Israel’s military said it had struck what it described as “terrorist” infrastructure, without providing further details.
In a separate statement, the military said its forces since Thursday had killed at least two Hamas fighters in northern Gaza whom it said were preparing to attack Israeli troops.
Medics also reported an Israeli strike on a tent encampment in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the south, that killed at least one person and wounded several others, including children.
The ceasefire agreed in October 2025 between Israel and Hamas brought major combat in the enclave to a halt, but it has not stopped Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since it began.
Over the same period, militants in Gaza have killed five Israeli soldiers.
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The renewed bloodshed unfolded as Hamas leaders travelled to Cairo for additional talks on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
According to sources close to the negotiations, the agenda includes Hamas disarmament and the withdrawal of the Israeli army, though they said a breakthrough had not yet emerged.
Palestinians inspect destruction aused by an unmanned aerial vehicle strike in western Gaza City
For most of Gaza’s two million residents — nearly all of whom have been displaced multiple times — daily life has narrowed to a thin coastal strip, where many are crowded into makeshift tents or damaged buildings in areas under Hamas control.
Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people in their cross-border attack into Israel on 7 October, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israeli attacks have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the territory’s health ministry says — figures the UN has deemed reliable.
Restrictions on media outlets and limited access to Gaza have made it difficult for journalists to independently verify death tolls or to report freely from the territory as the violence continues.
