Gaza Shelling Kills Girl, Worsens Shelter Crisis Amid Winter Fears

Gaza experienced heavy Israeli airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drone attacks early Wednesday, resulting in the death of a girl and injuries to several Palestinians across the Gaza and Khan Younis governorates. Local sources reported drone strikes near Dream Palace Hall in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, injuring displaced individuals, and an attack on a fisherman in the sea off Al-Shati refugee camp, northwest of Gaza City. Israeli forces also fired on a Palestinian in Qizan Al-Rashwan, south of Khan Younis, and shelling near the Al-Shuja'iya camp intersection, east of Gaza City, injured three displaced people, including a woman. In Gaza City, civil defense confirmed the death of Iman Abdel Aal and injuries to others after an airstrike hit a residential apartment near Al-Shifa Hospital. The eastern areas of Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza faced tank fire, while artillery targeted the east of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and the Al-Shuja'iya intersection. A drone attack destroyed a home in Baghdad Street, east of Gaza City.

These events occur amidst ongoing violations of a ceasefire agreement mediated in Sharm El Sheikh on October 10, 2025. The article references a "new agreement" announced by then-US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2026, for the second phase of a "road map" for Gaza, though Israeli military operations have continued.

Concurrently, Gaza faces a deepening shelter crisis as winter approaches. Approximately 270,000 tents house displaced persons, but over 60% (162,000) are dilapidated and unusable. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the government media office, warned that these conditions threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands, especially with heavy rains and low temperatures expected. He highlighted that the worn-out tents offer inadequate protection from the cold and rain.

Separately, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported 24,650 deaths in Gaza during 2025. Direct targeting accounted for 70.1% of fatalities, followed by heart disease at 7.7%. Males constituted 73.4% of deaths. Gaza governorate had the highest death rate (37.3%), followed by North Gaza (20.2%), Khan Younis (19.5%), the Middle Area (12.3%), and Rafah (10.7%). The under-five mortality rate rose to 33.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.