Israeli strikes killed eight people in Gaza on Sunday, 1 November, according to medics and hospital officials, in one of the deadliest days of reported violence in the territory in recent days despite a ceasefire that took effect a year ago.

Two strikes, north and south

In the south, five police officers attached to the Hamas-run interior ministry were killed in a strike in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, as they carried out routine duties, the ministry said. In the north, hospital officials said a missile hit a group of civilians near Cairo School in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighbourhood, killing three people, including a four-year-old boy. Footage outside Gaza City's Shifa Hospital showed men praying beside body bags and the small body of the child wrapped in a white towel.

Competing accounts

The Israeli military said it had struck several militants in Khan Younis, without giving further information, and told the AFP news agency it was targeting a militant in the south. It did not immediately comment on the Gaza City strike, according to Reuters. Hamas condemned the strikes as a deliberate war crime, saying the targeting of police officers was aimed at obstructing recovery efforts and sowing chaos. Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the ceasefire; Hamas denies trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the peace deal.

A fragile truce

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, took effect in October 2025 and was meant to lead eventually to reconstruction of the territory. Gaza's health ministry says 1,580 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since it began, a figure the United Nations considers reliable, while the overall toll since the war began in October 2023 stands at more than 74,000, according to health officials. Sunday's deaths are likely to feature in renewed calls from United Nations officials and humanitarian agencies for stronger protection for civilians and medical staff.

Sources: Reuters via SRN News; AFP via The Geneva Times. Casualty figures are attributed to medics, hospitals and the Gaza health ministry, not independently verified.