Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on 17–18 July killed at least 19 Palestinians and wounded dozens more, according to figures released by the territory’s health ministry and civil defence. The deadliest single incident occurred on Friday when a drone struck a crowd waiting for a funeral procession outside a mosque near the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing eight people and wounding 20, the Al-Awda Medical Complex reported. On Saturday, an airstrike on an apartment in the Nasr neighbourhood of Gaza City killed five members of one family — three children and their parents — leaving only a child who was not at home as a survivor, Gaza’s civil defence said. Three more people were killed in a strike on a group of civilians in the Zeitoun district, and two others died in separate attacks, health officials added.

Israel’s military stated that the strike on the Nasr apartment targeted Hamas infrastructure and that it had located Hamas militants in the area, without providing further details. A military spokesperson described the Zeitoun strike as aimed at a “Hamas terrorist” and said the results were under review. The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the Nuseirat funeral attack. The Hamas-led government’s media office in Gaza condemned what it called “a clear affirmation of a policy of terrorism directed against every living being in the Gaza Strip” and said Israeli forces had killed more than 25 Palestinians in the preceding 72 hours in strikes on markets, funerals, civilian gatherings and homes.

The violence continues despite a ceasefire agreement reached on 9 October 2025 between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey. Under its terms, Israeli forces withdrew to a demarcation line known as the Yellow Line but retain control over more than half of the enclave’s territory. Since the truce took effect on 10 October, Gaza’s health ministry — whose records United Nations agencies view as generally reliable — says at least 1,144 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,700 wounded. Five Israeli soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in the same period. Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, and Israel carries out near-daily strikes it says are necessary to neutralise militants who pose a threat.

The cumulative toll since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, has now surpassed 73,000 Palestinian dead and 173,000 wounded, according to the health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but states that women and children account for roughly half of all fatalities. Palestinian authorities say about 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, and rescue crews often cannot reach victims trapped under rubble. No new diplomatic initiative has been announced to shore up the truce, and the pattern of daily strikes and mounting casualties shows no sign of abating.