Israel has suspended the transfer of patients from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The suspension came just days after Israel reopened the crossing on February 2, 2026, for the first time in about 18 months. On the first day, only five critically ill patients were allowed to cross into Egypt. The Red Crescent’s spokesperson Raed al-Nims told Al Jazeera that Israel announced the closure only minutes before it took effect, leaving many wounded and seriously ill Palestinians waiting in ambulances near the crossing.

Israeli officials had earlier said that up to 50 Palestinians would be permitted to cross daily, but only five were allowed on Monday and 16 on Tuesday. Gaza’s health authorities reported that more than 18,000 patients are awaiting evacuation for treatment, including around 440 in critical condition. No explanation was given for why some patients were denied passage.

Despite an ongoing ceasefire, Israeli forces continued airstrikes in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 21 people were killed and 38 injured on Wednesday, bringing the total to 556 deaths and 1,500 injuries during the truce period.

Israel has returned the bodies and remains of 54 Palestinian prisoners who had been held in its prisons. Gaza’s Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that the handover took place through the International Committee of the Red Cross. Forensic examinations of the bodies have begun, after which families will be allowed to identify their relatives according to established procedures.

A Palestinian official said the transfer occurred amid Israel’s continued violations of the phased ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10. Under that deal, Israel was expected to withdraw additional troops from Gaza and begin reconstruction efforts. According to United Nations estimates, rebuilding Gaza could cost around 70 billion US dollars.

Despite the US-brokered ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes early Wednesday killed at least 21 Palestinians, including women and children, and injured many others. The attacks targeted tents of displaced people, a house, and a civilian gathering. The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that shelling in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis killed two people, including a paramedic, and wounded 12 others.

At least 23 Palestinians, including six children, were killed in Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials cited by Reuters on Wednesday, January 4. The attacks struck areas in southern Khan Younis and northern Gaza City, where a doctor was killed while rescuing the wounded and a five-month-old infant also died. A resident, Abu Mohammad Haboush, said his family was sleeping when a tank shell hit their home, killing several relatives.

The Israeli military stated that the strikes were in response to Hamas gunfire that allegedly targeted Israeli troops near the border, injuring one soldier. Hamas condemned the attacks, saying they undermine efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and called for immediate international pressure to halt the violence. The incident occurred amid ongoing discussions over Gaza’s governance and reconstruction under the second phase of a ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in January.

Gaza health officials reported that since the ceasefire began, Israeli attacks have killed at least 530 Palestinians, mostly civilians, while four Israeli soldiers have died in Palestinian assaults.

Al Jazeera has reported that Israel has introduced a new plan to manage and control Gaza’s Rafah crossing, adding multiple layers of security and approval procedures. The proposed system will impose stricter surveillance on both entry and exit. Only residents who left Gaza during the war, representatives of the Palestinian Authority, and a limited number of humanitarian workers will be eligible to enter. Their names must be registered, reviewed by Egypt, and approved by Israel’s Shin Bet before passing through checkpoints managed by the Palestinian Authority and the European Union. Travelers will then undergo body searches, X-ray screening, and biometric verification at Israeli-controlled posts before crossing the ‘yellow line.’

The report adds that exiting Gaza will be relatively easier, prioritizing patients needing medical treatment abroad. Departing individuals will also require registration and Shin Bet approval through Egypt. Israeli officials will use facial recognition software from a command center to open gates for approved travelers. Gaza’s media office director, Ismail al-Thawabta, said around 80,000 Palestinians displaced during the conflict wish to return, while about 22,000 injured or ill people urgently need to travel for treatment.

An Israeli airstrike in central Gaza’s Wadi Gaza area killed one Palestinian and injured two others on Sunday morning, according to Anadolu Agency. The attack reportedly targeted a gathering of civilians. Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 509 Palestinians and injured 1,405, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

The report stated that Tel Aviv continues to violate the ceasefire daily. Following heavy strikes on Friday and Saturday that killed 37 Palestinians in shelters, residential buildings, and a police center, Israel carried out another attack. Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired at least one missile at civilians in northern Wadi Gaza, an area previously evacuated under the ceasefire terms.

Separate incidents were reported in Rafah, Bureij, and northern Gaza, where Israeli ground and naval forces fired into controlled zones. The two-year Israeli offensive preceding the ceasefire left about 71,800 Palestinians dead, over 171,400 injured, and destroyed nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. The UN estimated reconstruction costs at around 70 billion dollars.

Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, warned that the continuation of Israeli attacks in Gaza after the ceasefire breach would lead to dire consequences. His statement came in response to Saturday’s Israeli airstrikes that killed 37 Palestinians, according to TRT World. Al-Hayya condemned the attacks as being carried out under false pretenses and said he had held discussions with mediators and unnamed international parties following the incident.

Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire and urged mediators to ensure that the occupying power fulfills its obligations and refrains from further violations. The group also blamed Israel for failing to resolve the plight of Palestinians trapped in tunnels in southern Gaza’s Rafah area. After the October 10 ceasefire, many Palestinians remained stranded there, as Israel reportedly refused to allow their departure despite mediation efforts.

The report added that U.S. President Donald Trump announced in mid-January that the second phase of his 20-point ceasefire plan had begun, but unresolved issues, including those involving trapped individuals, remain pending.

At least 37 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across several areas of the Gaza Strip within the past 24 hours, despite a ceasefire being in effect. Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday that the dead included women, children, and seven members of a single family. Gaza’s Civil Defense said the attacks began early Saturday, killing at least 32 people and injuring many others.

Medical sources confirmed that five people, including three children and two women, were killed when an apartment building was hit in Gaza City’s Rimal area. In Khan Younis, seven members of one family died when a tent sheltering displaced people was struck. Witnesses also reported injuries from a strike on a residential building in Gaza City’s Al-Tuffah area. Additional airstrikes were carried out in Al-Jalla Street and the Bureij refugee camp, though casualties there were not immediately known.

According to Anadolu’s correspondent, Israeli forces had issued evacuation warnings before striking an administrative building at the Gaith camp near Al-Ribat College in Khan Younis, which housed hundreds of displaced people.

Israeli forces launched extensive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Saturday, resulting in at least 19 deaths, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera. The attacks began at dawn and targeted multiple areas, including Khan Younis and Gaza City. In the northwest of Khan Younis, an airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area. In Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, a police headquarters was bombed, killing at least seven people.

Earlier reports indicated that five people were killed in central Gaza and seven in the southern Al-Mawasi area. The information was confirmed by medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, who relayed details to Al Jazeera Arabic. The strikes mark another escalation in violence in the densely populated enclave, where repeated bombardments have caused significant civilian casualties.

The report did not include official statements from Israeli authorities or details on the intended targets beyond those described by local sources.

At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, were killed early Saturday in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to reports. In the northwest of Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area, killing at least seven, including three children. Their bodies were taken to Nasser Medical Complex. In Gaza City, emergency services reported that another airstrike on an apartment building in the western Rimal neighborhood killed at least five people, including three children, while eight others were injured in a separate bombing in the Daraj area.

The attacks came a day before Israel announced it would reopen the Rafah crossing on Sunday. Gaza’s government media office stated that since a ceasefire brokered by the United States took effect on October 10, at least 524 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

The renewed strikes highlight ongoing tensions in Gaza despite the declared ceasefire, raising concerns about civilian safety and the fragile humanitarian situation.

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has called for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza and an end to any attempts to control the enclave’s future. Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, he said that achieving a permanent ceasefire requires Israel’s full departure. Mansour emphasized that resolving the Palestinian issue is as urgent as addressing other global conflicts.

Welcoming the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025, Mansour said the plan could end killings, famine, and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis faced by Palestinians. He questioned the lack of accountability for victims, citing families still searching for loved ones killed or missing under rubble. Mansour also condemned Israeli actions against humanitarian organizations, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and NGOs, saying repeated attacks on UN facilities have weakened their operations.

He reiterated that Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, and described the occupation as illegal and without any legitimate right.

Israeli forces shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man during a raid in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday evening, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The victim, identified as Mohammad Rajeh Nasrallah from Al-Dhahiriya, was taken to Dura Hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was pronounced dead shortly after. Another Palestinian was injured in the same operation, while at least three others were arrested in Bethlehem, the Wafa news agency reported.

The report said Israeli forces have continued widespread night raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank, detaining Palestinians regardless of alleged offenses. Thousands remain imprisoned without charge under harsh conditions, with reports of torture and deaths in custody. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem stated that at least 84 Palestinians, including one child, have died in detention since October 2023.

Elsewhere, Israeli troops detained 10 people in Amatin near Qalqilya, raided homes in Nablus, and arrested several residents. Settlers also uprooted 200 olive trees near Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, as attacks on Palestinian land and livelihoods persisted.

Israel has launched new attacks in Gaza, breaking the existing ceasefire agreement. According to Anadolu Agency, three Palestinians were killed and six others injured in separate Israeli strikes on Sunday in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and the Shujaiya-Tuffah area of Gaza City. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces also targeted a building owned by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jabalia, injuring two people. Earlier, one person was shot dead in the Tuffah neighborhood when Israeli troops opened fire on tents sheltering displaced civilians.

The report added that four pedestrians were injured in a drone strike in central Gaza City. Gaza’s Health Ministry stated that since the ceasefire in October, Israel has violated the agreement hundreds of times, resulting in at least 484 deaths and 1,321 injuries. Since October 2023, more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children.

The renewed attacks further undermine the fragile ceasefire and highlight the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where repeated strikes have caused extensive civilian casualties.

The Abu Amr family, originally from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, has been displaced more than 17 times since the start of Israel’s offensive. They now live in a tent beside piles of garbage in Gaza City’s Rimal district, struggling daily against pollution, illness, and indignity. Sixty-four-year-old Sayada Abu Amr, who suffers from asthma, said she keeps her inhaler under her pillow to survive the stench. Her daughter-in-law Suraiya described the near impossibility of maintaining hygiene amid water shortages and shared toilets, leading to frequent gastric illnesses.

Suraiya recalled that before the war, cleanliness was central to her life, but now she must live surrounded by filth. Her husband Salem said their children suffer from insects, foul odors, and contaminated floodwater that seeps into their tent during storms. The family has no spare clothes or clean water. Over two years of Israeli attacks have killed more than 71,000 Palestinians and destroyed or damaged nearly all structures in Gaza. Palestinians believe the destruction aims to make Gaza uninhabitable.

A second phase of ceasefire talks is underway under U.S. mediation, but reconstruction remains blocked by Israeli authorities, leaving residents fearful that sanitation and water systems will continue to collapse.

A commentary published by Amar Desh Online on January 25, 2026, argues that Gaza’s reconstruction must prioritize the rights, history, and lived experiences of its people rather than being framed solely as an investment opportunity. The article criticizes the vision reportedly proposed by Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law to former U.S. President Donald Trump, which imagines Gaza as a site of luxury housing, commercial zones, and beachfront developments. It warns that such an approach could deepen crises instead of fostering genuine recovery.

The piece emphasizes that Gaza is home to more than two million Palestinians who have endured decades of blockade, displacement, and repeated assaults. It notes that for many families, their homes symbolize memory, social bonds, and the right of return to lands lost in 1948, giving them value beyond market price. The article contrasts global leaders’ reconstruction pledges at Davos with continued killings in Gaza, reporting at least 480 Palestinian deaths since an October 10 ceasefire.

It concludes that reconstruction will only be meaningful if it acknowledges Palestinian rights, dignity, and historical identity rather than treating Gaza as a failed economic project.

At least three Palestinians, including two children, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza despite a ceasefire remaining in effect, according to medical sources and witnesses cited by Anadolu Agency. The strikes occurred in several areas, including Beit Lahia and Khan Younis, where drone fire and gunfire also left several others injured.

Medical sources reported that two teenagers, 14-year-old Salman Zakaria and 15-year-old Mohammad Yusuf from the Al-Zawara family, were killed near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. Witnesses said the drone strike took place in an area from which Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw under the ceasefire agreement. Another Palestinian was killed in Khan Younis, and multiple injuries were reported in Jabalia and other parts of northern Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have continued since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, killing 481 Palestinians and injuring 1,313. Since October 2023, more than 71,600 Palestinians have been killed and at least 171,300 injured during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.