CAIRO, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least four people, including three children, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.
Witnesses said Israeli warplanes fired at least 12 missiles near the Katiba area in the west of Gaza City, an area crowded with displaced families.
At least three people — two children and a woman — were killed and several others wounded in the unusually heavy bombardment, medics said. Two vehicles were hit and reduced to twisted wreckage.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it struck several targets in the Gaza Strip in order to remove threats to Israeli security forces.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said an Israeli special force had attempted to carry out an operation in Gaza City but was discovered during the mission.
He said Israel then launched heavy airstrikes involving more than 10 warplanes, killing and wounding several people.
In a separate incident, medics said a girl, Israa Al-Hissi, was killed and two other people were wounded when Israeli forces operating east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza opened fire on the area.
A U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 halted the large-scale fighting that had devastated the enclave, but it has not ended Israeli strikes. The military says such operations are intended to prevent attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.
Hamas accuses Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to advance a broader plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war. The plan includes further Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into force last October, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.
(Reporting by Nidal al-MughrabiEditing by Ros Russell)
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