- Lead. Israeli airstrikes hit the Bureij and Jabalia refugee camps and two Gaza City neighbourhoods on Thursday, killing at least two Palestinians after the military issued displacement orders for four areas.
- Fact. The total Palestinian death toll has reached 73,311 since the war began in October 2023, with more than 1,185 killed since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect last October.
- Stake. With 1.4 million people—67 percent of Gaza’s population—facing crisis-level food insecurity, and international stabilisation force deployments stalling, there is no visible off-ramp from the current escalation cycle.
Israeli forces struck four locations across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, hours after the military issued displacement orders warning residents to evacuate. Strikes hit the Bureij and Jabalia refugee camps in northern Gaza, as well as the Zeitoun and Tal al-Hawa neighbourhoods of Gaza City. At least two Palestinians were killed and several more injured, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.
Warnings Followed by Attacks
Al Jazeera reporter Ibrahim al-Khalili, reporting from Gaza, described a pattern that has become familiar: “What is particularly alarming is that these warnings have been followed by attacks on the very areas where people have been told to flee.” The sequence—displacement order, then strike—has drawn repeated condemnation from United Nations agencies.
Thursday’s strikes are the latest in a sustained military campaign that continued after the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October 2025. That agreement was meant to end active hostilities, yet more than 1,185 Palestinians have been killed since it began. The cumulative death toll since the war started stands at 73,311, according to Gaza health officials.
Humanitarian Collapse
UN World Food Programme director Ross Smith described conditions as “still a critical, desperate humanitarian situation.” Some 1.4 million people—approximately 67 percent of Gaza’s population—face crisis-level food insecurity. The UK Foreign Office has reported that Israeli restrictions on aid access are contributing to disease, water scarcity, and health service collapse throughout the territory.
An International Stabilisation Force deployment, proposed to help manage security in post-ceasefire Gaza, has stalled. Morocco was reported to be preparing to deploy security forces, but a broader multilateral framework has not taken shape. Hamas has rejected disarmament proposals, saying Israel remains in breach of its ceasefire obligations by continuing strikes and restricting humanitarian aid.
For the trajectory of post-ceasefire violence that preceded Thursday’s strikes, see Gaza Funeral Strike Kills Seven as Post-Ceasefire Death Toll Passes 1,100.