Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to local health sources. The latest fatalities occurred on Tuesday when three members of the Ghubain family were killed in an air attack on their home in Gaza City's Daraj area. Elsewhere in the city, a father and his 13-year-old son were killed in a separate air strike on a tent in the Zeitoun neighborhood, while a man was fatally shot by Israeli gunfire in Khan Younis.
Since last year's United States-brokered truce agreement, more than 1,600 Palestinians have been reportedly killed by Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health. The escalating violence comes amidst a political stalemate, with negotiators failing to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops from Gaza, which controls about two-thirds of the territory and from which Palestinian residents have been ordered to leave.
The latest killings come against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the first strong storm of the season over the weekend. Approximately 70,000 tents in Gaza were flooded within 12 hours, killing at least five people and causing about $3 million in damage, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. Israel is allegedly blocking 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents from entering Gaza, allowing only 20,000 tents into the enclave, where about 85 percent of homes have been destroyed or damaged by war. Israel is also reportedly restricting much-needed humanitarian aid.