Over the past few days, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have carried out additional airstrikes and shootings across the Gaza Strip pursuing a systematic policy of deliberate civilian killings and falling under genocidal acts prohibited under international law. These crimes continue 106 days after the signing of a ceasefire that Israel treats as nonexistent in practice.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has documented an escalation in crimes involving the direct targeting of civilians who are not taking part in hostilities, including children, women, and elderly persons. These attacks have occurred in displacement places and tents, near medical facilities, and in areas outside IOF’s deployment zones, reflecting a consistent pattern of the unlawful use of lethal force.

Among the most notable violations documented by PCHR are the following:

At around 13:15 on Saturday, 24 January 2026, an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on two children who were collecting firewood near Kamal ‘Odwan Hospital in the Beit Lahia Housing Project, northern Gaza Strip. As a result, the two children identified as Salman Zakariah Mohammed al-Zawar‘ah (14) and Mohammed Yousif Mohammed al-Zawar‘ah (15) were killed after sustaining shrapnel wounds to their bodies.

The targeted area lies outside the so-called “yellow zone,” approximately 300 meters south of the area where the IOF were stationed near al-Barawi petrol station on Beit Lahia Main Street. The area is entirely civilian in nature, underscoring that the attack was carried out in the absence of any imminent threat or military necessity.

At approximately 02:40 on Friday, 16 January 2026, IOF stationed in eastern Khan Younis opened fire toward the western parts of the city, killing Sabah Ahmed ‘Ali Abu Jame‘a (62) after she was struck in the head by a bullet (entry and exit) while sleeping in her tent. In the same incident, her son, Karim Abu Jame‘a (34), was injured by a bullet in his left hand (entry and exit).

Munir Mohammed ‘Abdullah Abu Jame’a (60), the husband of the deceased, told PCHR field researchers:

” I woke up to my son Karim (34) screaming while he was sleeping with his daughter Sabah (11) and my wife in an adjacent tent, located to the south of my smaller tent. He was shouting, ‘Mom, Mom, I cannot find my hand.’ I rushed to their tent amid ongoing gunfire from IOF positions in the eastern parts of Khan Younis, approximately two kilometers away. Meanwhile, my sister Noura (47) came and asked him what happened. He said he could not feel his hand, so she helped him and his daughter out of the tent and went to alert his mother. Noura returned to the tent, followed by my sister Ferial (5) and my son ‘Ali (28). They tried to wake my wife, Sabah, but she had been struck in the head by a bullet and was motionless. Some displaced people from nearby tents gathered, and my son ‘Ali, along with others, carried her to Naser Medical Complex, which is close by, while gunfire from IOF continued. My injured son Karim joined us later at the hospital, where the doctor at the reception confirmed that my wife had died from a gunshot wound that entered the back of her head and exited through her face.”

IOF stationed in the southeastern parts of Khan Younis opened fire at approximately 10:30 on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, targeting displacement camps in southwestern Khan Younis. As a result, Hanan Jamal Hamdan Madi (34) sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was later taken to Naser Medical Complex, where doctors confirmed her death.

Her brother told PCHR field researchers that his sister had been outside the tent in Ard al-Salam Displacement Camp, filling the water tank while the family was having breakfast. Suddenly, they heard the sound of five bullets fired from the south, where IOF were stationed approximately 1,500 meters away, followed by an explosion. When he stepped out to see what had happened, he found his sister lying on the ground, bleeding and motionless.

At approximately 11:00 on the same day, IOF opened fire on al-Mo‘atasem Bellah Ahmed Mohammed al-Shrafi (13) while he was collecting firewood with his brother Mohammed (15) at Bani Suaila Intersection in eastern Khan Younis. As a result, he was injured by a bullet in the neck and killing him.

His father told PCHR field researchers that his two children had left their tent in Tiba Towers Camp, northwest of Khan Younis, to collect firewood due to a lack of cooking gas. About an hour after they had left, he received a call from his son Mohammed, who said that IOF had opened fire on them and that his brother, al-Mo‘atasem Bellah, had been injured near Bani Suaila Intersection. He added: “I contacted an ambulance, which picked me up and stopped near the Telecommunication Company’s headquarters, refusing to go further due to lack of coordination. I had to walk on foot until I reached Bani Suaila Intersection, where I found my son lying on the ground, bleeding from his neck and motionless. I carried him to the west and took a civilian car to the hospital, where his death was confirmed.”

It is worth noting that the family has another child, ‘Abdul Rahman (10), who was previously injured by IOF gunfire while collecting firewood and lost one of his eyes

These unfolding incidents confirm that IOF stationed in the eastern and southeastern areas open fire on a daily basis toward the western parts of the city, despite the absence of any hostilities, resulting in the killing and injury of civilians.

Additionally, two days ago, IOF dropped leaflets over eastern Salah al-Deen Street, particularly in the al-Reqeb neighborhood within the Bani Suhaila area of eastern Khan Younis. The leaflets ordered evacuation without clearly specifying the areas, exposing residents across different locations to constant danger and instilling a climate of fear and chaos.

According to follow-up by our field researchers, since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October 2025, the IOF have continued air and artillery bombardments, gunfire, and recurrent demolitions within areas located along the so-called “yellow line,” aimed at destroying the remaining houses and buildings. According to the Ministry of Health, these attacks have so far killed 496 people, including 171 children, 65 women and 20 elderly people, and have wounded 1313 others, of whom 43.7% are children and women.

These daily incidents in the Gaza Strip underscore the ongoing Israeli military aggression and confirm that the announced ceasefire is non-existent on the ground. The IOF continue to carry out open, repeated, and systematic attacks, taking various forms, including the daily and nightly bombardment of neighborhoods and civilian objects, the destruction of remaining buildings, and deliberate shooting at areas densely populated with displaced persons.

The IOF also continue to expand the so-called “yellow zone” by moving the yellow markers and annexing additional areas of land. This expansion places these areas under direct military control. As a result, the area where the 2.2 million residents of Gaza are crammed into is further reduced, confining them to only 40% of the total area of the Gaza Strip.

These acts constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality, and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. In their broader context, their repetition, and the targeting of protected groups, they also fall within the definition of genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through the deliberate killing and infliction of serious bodily harm to members of a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group with the intent to destroy it, in whole or in part.

PCHR calls on the international community to uphold its responsibilities and take immediate measures, including providing urgent protection for civilians, ending IOF’s military presence in the Gaza Strip, halting the use of methods and weapons targeting civilian neighborhoods, and compelling Israel to cease its attacks and the ongoing siege on the Strip.