Al‑Tuffah’s Mourning: Children and Families Among Gaza’s Latest Victims

In a somber episode that underscores the fragility of an already tenuous ceasefire in Gaza, at least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced civilians in the Al‑Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, health officials said. The head of Al Shifa Hospital, Mohamed Abu Selmia, reported the deaths on Friday, highlighting the human toll of recurring violence in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The school had been functioning as a shelter for internally displaced people, many of whom fled fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip. According to Gaza’s civil emergency service, most of those killed were children, and several others were wounded and transported to hospitals for treatment. Rescue teams were only able to recover the bodies after coordination between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Israeli forces.

In response, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released a statement asserting that troops fired on the area after identifying what they described as “suspicious individuals” in command structures located outside the designated ceasefire line. The military said it is reviewing details of the incident and acknowledged being “aware of the claim regarding casualties”.

The attack — coming amid a ceasefire that has been in effect since October — contributed to a rising toll in Gaza. According to Gaza’s health ministry, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the truce began has reached around 400, with many incidents involving allegations of civilian harm. The militant group Hamas condemned the strike as a “brutal crime” and a violation of the ceasefire.

Such incidents continue to complicate efforts by mediators to move beyond the initial truce toward a more enduring peace, even as both sides accuse each other of violations and tensions persist along and beyond the so‑called “Yellow line” separating positions in northern Gaza.

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Sources Reuters — Israeli attack on school shelter in Gaza City kills 5 Palestinians, hospital chief says via multiple outlets. Arabic / AFP reporting — Israeli shelling of shelter at Gaza Martyrs School and military response. Reuters coverage (additional aggregation).