Israel's Gaza Strikes Threaten Fragile Ceasefire as Qatar Warns of Dangerous Escalation

Israel conducted additional strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday amid rising tensions in the region.

Palestinian Territories experienced renewed violence as Gaza health authorities reported that Israeli air strikes killed four people on Thursday, prompting Qatar, a key mediator in the ceasefire process, to warn that these attacks could potentially undermine the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.

The latest strikes occurred the morning following one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the truce began on October 10, and after Israel launched a series of attacks targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, despite the nearly year-long ceasefire in that area.

According to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, four individuals lost their lives in Thursday's early morning strikes. The territory's civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, had initially reported a lower count of three fatalities.

Hospital officials confirmed that three members of one family, including a one-year-old girl, were killed when their house east of Khan Yunis was struck. Another person died in an air strike on Abasan al-Kabira town, also located east of Khan Yunis.

A source from Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry, speaking anonymously, stated that artillery fire was continuing in the Khan Yunis area.

Qatar, which has played a crucial mediation role in the Hamas-Israel conflict, condemned what it described as "brutal" Israeli air strikes, calling them "a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the ceasefire agreement."

Gaza residents expressed profound despair regarding the fresh wave of attacks, indicating that on the ground, it felt as though the two-year war had never stopped.

"We are worried about the war returning. The sound of artillery shelling and explosions from the demolition operations east of Gaza was terrifying last night," said Lina Kuraz, 33, from the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City. "My daughter kept asking me all night, 'Will the war come back?' Every time we try to regain hope, the shelling starts again. When will this nightmare end?"

The so-called yellow line marks the boundary inside Gaza that Israeli troops have withdrawn behind as part of the US-brokered ceasefire.

"We are aware of a strike east of the yellow line that was done to dismantle terror infrastructures," the Israeli military stated. "We're not aware of the reported casualties. It's part of the regular IDF operations east of the yellow line."

Israel has conducted multiple strikes against what it claims are Hamas targets during the ceasefire period, resulting in more than 312 Palestinian deaths, according to the health ministry in Hamas-governed Gaza.

Wednesday's Israeli strikes on Gaza resulted in 27 fatalities, according to the civil defense agency.

"The war hasn't ended. Nothing has really changed," stated Mohammed Hamdouna, 36, who was displaced from northern Gaza to a tent in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis. "The intensity of the death count has decreased, but martyrs and shelling happen every day. We are still living in tents. The cities are rubble, the crossings are still closed, and all the basic necessities of life are still lacking."

Hamas has urged US President Donald Trump and other international mediators of the weeks-long truce to pressure Israel to cease its attacks.

"This violation requires serious and effective action from the mediators to pressure Israel to stop these violations and uphold the ceasefire agreement," said Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the Islamist movement. "The occupation is acting with blatant disregard for the mediators' efforts."

The conflict began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,221 deaths.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 69,546 people, according to figures from the health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Israel also conducted several strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, with the military stating it targeted Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in various towns, accusing the Iran-backed group of attempting to rebuild its capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday also received criticism from Damascus and others in the region after visiting Israeli troops deployed in a buffer zone inside Syria.