Israeli strike on Gaza kills nine, including children
Overnight strikes on residential buildings in Gaza City killed at least nine people, four of them children, as reported truce violations mount.
- Overnight Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Gaza City killed at least nine people, four of them children.
- The buildings were hit without warning while many residents were asleep, and a large fire broke out afterwards.
- Gaza's government media office records 3,005 reported truce violations between October and late May.
- Israel says it is investigating the case and regrets the civilian deaths.
Al Shifa Hospital said that overnight Israeli strikes on several residential buildings in Gaza City killed at least nine people, four of them children. According to Palestinian sources cited by Al Jazeera, the strikes hit the apartments without prior warning while most residents were asleep, and the explosions set off a large fire that rescue teams worked to extinguish until morning.
For readers in Serbia this is not a distant story. Belgrade keeps a close eye on the Middle East because the truce that the United States brokered last autumn is proving fragile, and every fresh breach affects energy prices, refugee flows and the diplomatic calculations of the whole of Europe. At least three more Palestinians were killed in separate attacks on 4 June, while another 11 reported truce violations were recorded in the past 24 hours.
How long did the truce really hold?
Israel has carried out strikes on most of the 237 days since it agreed in October to a ceasefire brokered by the United States. Gaza’s government media office says that between 10 October 2025 and 27 May 2026 it recorded 3,005 violations of the agreement, which means that, by that count, the pause in the fighting was more the exception than the rule.
The scale of destruction in Gaza City remains vast. The latest strikes hit densely populated neighbourhoods where families stayed on even after months of fighting, because they had nowhere else to go. For residents that means that even a period labelled a truce has not delivered the safety it was supposed to guarantee.
- Nine killed overnight between 3 and 4 June, four of them children
- At least three more killed in separate attacks on 4 June
- 11 new reported truce violations in 24 hours
- 3,005 recorded violations from 10 October 2025 to 27 May 2026
The second phase of the peace plan, led by United States envoy Steve Witkoff, is blocked by a dispute over the disarmament of Hamas. Without an agreement on that issue, the mediators have no mechanism to halt individual strikes, so the violence continues despite the formal framework for peace.
What does the Israeli side say?
The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of civilian deaths in Gaza City, that it was investigating the case and that it regretted the loss of civilian lives. Its statement said the army targets members of armed groups and seeks to reduce the risk to the population, but concrete findings from inquiries into such incidents often take months to emerge.
The Israeli military said it was investigating reports of civilian deaths and regretted every civilian casualty.
The conflicting accounts of the two sides, one counting nine dead in residential buildings, the other speaking of targeted military objectives, illustrate why any attempt at a lasting truce is so difficult. Until the dispute over disarmament is resolved, European capitals, Belgrade among them, will follow the situation knowing that every escalation has consequences far beyond Gaza.
Can international mediators revive the second phase of the peace plan before the number of reported truce violations climbs again?
