Israeli Attack Kills Entire Family in Deir al-Balah, Including Woman and Child

Four members of a single family, including a woman and her child, were killed early on Wednesday when an Israeli helicopter targeted a house in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Medical sources identified the victims as Omar Sami Ahmed Abu Qassem, 33, his wife Asmaa Ghazi Abu Qassem, and their six-year-old daughter Habiba Omar Sami Abu Qassem, after their home was directly hit. Artillery shelling and other attacks continued across various parts of the enclave. In central Gaza, Israeli artillery fired on areas northeast of the al-Bureij refugee camp, while shelling persisted around the camp. In the south, Israeli forces carried out large-scale demolition operations in the Qizan al-Najjar area south of Khan Younis. Simultaneously, drones dropped bombs near the Bani Suheila roundabout east of the city, and tanks fired intensively towards eastern areas. The Shuja’iyya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City was also targeted by artillery fire, as part of a series of attacks across the Strip amid the ongoing Israeli military operation and escalating bombardment of residential areas. Earlier, at least eight Palestinians, including the head of the Jabaliya refugee camp police station, were killed on Tuesday when an Israeli airstrike hit a police post in northern Gaza. The strike targeted the post in the Al-Falouja area west of Jabaliya camp, where civilians and police personnel were present. The Interior Ministry in Gaza identified one of the martyrs as Colonel Mohammed Marwan Salem, the chief of the Jabaliya police station, who was killed alongside other officers and personnel while on duty. Medical sources said the death toll from the strike reached eight, including a woman, with several others wounded. Among the injured were civilians visiting the police station and a woman passing near the site when the attack occurred. Witnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli drone struck the police post in an area crowded with tents sheltering displaced Palestinians and temporary evacuation centres. The attack took place as Israeli forces continue military operations across the Gaza Strip, despite a ceasefire that has been in effect since 10 October 2025. Earlier on Tuesday, one Palestinian was killed and three others were injured when an Israeli drone hit a tent sheltering displaced families near the Tayba Tower area west of Khan Yunis.