Israeli Airstrikes Kill 12 in Gaza, Including Two Children and Pregnant Woman, Undermining Fragile Ceasefire
Strike on family home in Nuseirat camp and attack on police vehicle raise death toll since October truce to over 650
GAZA CITY — March 16, 2026 — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including two young boys and a pregnant woman expecting twins, in attacks that further strained a ceasefire already showing signs of unravelling after five months of relative calm .
The deadliest strike hit a residential building in the Nuseirat urban refugee camp in central Gaza in the early morning, killing a couple in their 30s, their 10-year-old son, and a 15-year-old neighbour, according to medical officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies . The woman was pregnant with twins, hospital authorities confirmed .
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“We were sleeping and got up to the strike of a missile. The strike was strong,” Mahmoud al-Muhtaseb, a neighbour, told reporters. “There was no prior warning” .
A second strike in the afternoon targeted a police vehicle on the south-north Salah al-Din route at the entrance to the central town of Zawaida, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said . Eight police officers were killed in the attack, including Colonel Iyad Ab Yousef, described as a senior police official in central Gaza . At least 14 bystanders were wounded in the strike, medical sources said .
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant Sunday in response to an earlier incident in which a militant opened fire at troops, but did not provide further details on the specific strikes .
Ceasefire Under Strain
Sunday’s deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect in October to at least 670, according to Gaza health officials . About half of those killed have been women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry reports .
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire, with forces carrying out repeated airstrikes and frequently firing on Palestinians near military-held zones . Israel says it has responded to violations of the truce or targeted wanted militants .
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began .
The health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts, though it does not provide a breakdown of civilians and militants .
Wider Context
Sunday’s fatalities add to the staggering toll of a conflict that began with Hamas-led militants’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage . Since then, more than 72,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry .
Hamas oversees a police force that maintained public security after the militants seized power in Gaza in 2007 . The police largely melted away during the war as Israeli forces seized large areas and targeted Hamas security forces with airstrikes, but following the October ceasefire, they have reappeared in Gaza streets and reasserted control in areas not controlled by the Israeli military .
Rafah Crossing to Reopen
Separately, Israel announced it will allow the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt starting Wednesday after more than a two-week hiatus . COGAT, the Israeli military body coordinating aid to Gaza, said the crossing will resume operations with “limited” passenger traffic in both directions, but no cargo will be permitted .
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The crossing was closed after Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering an expanding regional conflict . Since its opening earlier this year, Israel allowed a limited evacuation of patients and wounded people for treatment outside Gaza—a fraction of more than 20,000 requiring medical evacuations, according to the Gaza Health Ministry .
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate, with aid agencies warning that only around 200 trucks enter the territory daily, far below the estimated 600 required to meet basic needs . Nearly half of essential medicines are now unavailable, while about two-thirds of medical supplies have been exhausted, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
SOURCES / INPUTS
National Herald/Al Jazeera: Israeli air strikes kill 13 in Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens
Dawn/Reuters: Israeli forces kill 16 more in Gaza, occupied W. Bank
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