Israeli Drone Attack on Southern Gaza Kills 1 Palestinian, as Settlers Kill 16 in West Bank in 2026
PALESTINE – An Israeli drone attack on Southern Gaza early Thursday killed 1 person and injured 3 others after Israeli forces targeted a group of civilians in southern Khan Younis.
A source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said that the body of Yahya Abu Shalhoub and three wounded people arrived at the hospital after an Israeli drone strike targeted them in the al-Maslakh area south of the city.
The incident comes amid ongoing Israeli violations of a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, following a genocide that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000, most of them women and children.
Israeli artillery shelled areas east of Khan Younis, while Israeli military vehicles opened heavy fire in eastern parts of the city and in the al-Mawasi area northwest of Rafah, local sources said.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out large-scale demolitions of homes and facilities in areas of their deployment east of Gaza City early Thursday, alongside artillery fire and gunfire in the surrounding area.
The Gaza government media office said on April 14 that Israel had committed 2,400 violations of the ceasefire, including killings, arrests, siege measures and deprivation of food.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the violations have killed 786 Palestinians and wounded 2,217 others.
Israel has also been accused of violating the agreement by restricting the entry of agreed quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies and shelter materials into Gaza, where about 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million displaced people, are living in severe conditions.
Israeli Settlers Kill 16 Palestinians in 2026
At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli occupiers in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2026, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday.
The ministry said in a statement that the youngest among the victims was a 13-year-old child and the oldest was 60 years old.
On Wednesday, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official agency, said the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupiers in the West Bank had reached 15 since the beginning of the year.
Israeli forces and occupiers carried out a total of 1,819 attacks in March, including 1,322 by the Israeli army and 497 by occupiers, according to a previous commission statement.
The developments come amid a sharp escalation in attacks by Israeli occupiers and Israeli forces across the West Bank since October 2023, which have killed more than 1,150 Palestinians and wounded thousands, according to official Palestinian data.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
