An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood early Wednesday, killing Reem Asaad Awad, 33, and injuring two others, including a girl. A medical source at Al-Shifa Hospital told Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency that hospital staff received her body and the two wounded.
The strike wrecked the targeted apartment and damaged neighboring buildings. A large fire broke out. Civil defense crews put it out.
Fire on Homes Across the Strip
The Rimal strike wasn’t the only attack. Witnesses said Israeli military vehicles and quadcopter drones opened heavy fire toward Palestinian homes in the Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City. Explosive devices were dropped on al-Sikka Street in the surrounding area.
Separately, sources said the Israeli army carried out a large-scale demolition operation and blew up homes in areas where its forces are deployed east of Gaza City.
In the central Gaza Strip, Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers pushed beyond areas under army control east of Deir al-Balah, witnesses said. Gunfire struck residents’ homes along Salah al-Din Street, sparking panic among residents. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Israeli artillery also shelled areas northeast of the Bureij refugee camp. An Israeli drone dropped an explosive device on a tent. No injuries were reported there, either.
A Ceasefire in Name
The October 2025 ceasefire is just over one year old. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli violations have killed at least 1,498 Palestinians and injured 5,306 others.
The wider toll is far larger. Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 74,000 Palestinians and injured 175,000, the Daily Sabah report said. The war is now in its fourth year. Around 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
The Occupation’s Stated Plans
The Israeli military describes its conduct differently. The IDF and Shin Bet carry out an average of two to three targeted operations daily against Hamas operatives and commanders in the Gaza Strip, according to the base reporting. Israel says some of those targeted were involved in the October 7 attacks, while others are organizing attacks or attempting to cross the Yellow Line.
Military officials told Walla that the Gaza Strip is currently closer to escalation than to reconstruction and a negotiated arrangement. They cited what they described as attempts by Hamas’s military wing to rebuild its capabilities, ongoing training exercises, attempts to provoke confrontations with IDF troops along the Yellow Line, and intelligence warnings of planned attacks. Those warnings include concerns about attacks in the period leading up to Israel’s elections, aimed at influencing the results.
Security officials also said that, according to assessments in Jerusalem, Israel will oppose any reconstruction measures unless Hamas is disarmed in practice and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized. That means removing infrastructure, weapons and fighters.
The position matters on the ground. Around 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, and Israel’s stated condition ties rebuilding the enclave to disarmament. Meanwhile, the army continues demolishing homes in areas under its control, and strikes on residential buildings continue under a ceasefire that Gaza’s Health Ministry says has already cost nearly 1,500 Palestinian lives.