The Israeli military launched a deadly strike on Gaza on Wednesday after saying Hamas had attacked its soldiers, the latest spate of violence to test the cease-fire agreed to almost two months ago.
The Israeli military said it killed a militant in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, in retaliation for a Hamas attack in nearby Rafah that it said had injured five soldiers. Suhaib al-Hamss, the director of the Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital in Khan Younis, said the Israeli strike killed at least six people, including a man, two women and three children, and wounded many others in an encampment for displaced people.
The cease-fire was agreed to in October, and there have been frequent flare-ups of violence, including Israeli military strikes on Gaza. The Israeli military has said it has targeted Hamas, but Palestinian health officials have said many civilians have been killed in the strikes, including children.
But key parts of the agreement have been fulfilled, including the return of all the living hostages. Roughly 250 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the war in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, handed over the remains of a Thai farmworker. The body of the last captive, an Israeli police officer, has not been returned.
It is unclear if there has been any progress on efforts to demilitarize Gaza, which Israeli and American officials believe would cement a long-term cease-fire.
In Rafah, a Hamas militant opened fire on an Israeli armored personnel carrier, which had been brought in after a suspicious person was identified in a building in the area, according to an Israeli military spokeswoman. One soldier was wounded seriously, she added.
Video of the Israeli strike on Wednesday evening showed a cluster of tents engulfed in flames as people hurled water at the fire.
Dr. al-Hamss said in a phone interview that a flood of dead and wounded people arrived at the field hospital and that medical staff provided basic treatment before the patients were transferred to a larger hospital with more resources. Many of the patients had shrapnel wounds, he said.
“It was utter chaos,” he said, “a totally catastrophic situation.”
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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