Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Five, Including Three Near Khan Younis

Deaths reported as Gaza ceasefire faces renewed pressure

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip, Palestine — Israeli strikes in Gaza killed five people on Friday, including two brothers and another relative whose home was hit outside Khan Younis, according to Palestinian hospital officials, marking the latest reported deaths despite an October ceasefire intended to halt the war between Israel and Hamas.

Officials at Nasser Hospital said the three relatives were killed when their family home was struck in the area near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The Israeli military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis when asked about the reported attack.

Two additional people were killed in separate strikes in Gaza City on Friday, health officials at Shifa Hospital said. Israel’s military confirmed that it had struck two separate locations in Gaza City but did not provide details about the targets, casualties or the circumstances of the operations.

The reported deaths underscore the fragility of the ceasefire arrangement, which was reached in October after more than two years of fighting. Although the scale of ground combat and major bombardment has diminished since the agreement, airstrikes have continued across the territory.

Gaza health officials say at least 1,303 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes and other military action since the ceasefire took effect. The figures could not be independently verified, and Israel has regularly disputed aspects of casualty reporting from Gaza while maintaining that its operations target militant threats.

Regional conflict adds pressure to Gaza truce

Friday’s Israeli strikes in Gaza came as the wider Middle East conflict continued to affect shipping, energy and international diplomacy. The U.N.’s International Maritime Organization said 19 seafarers have been killed and at least 6,000 crew members remain stranded aboard hundreds of vessels unable to leave the Persian Gulf since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.

The agency said there have been at least 70 attacks on international shipping in the Persian Gulf. Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez called for practical measures and renewed international cooperation to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route that carried about one-fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas before the conflict.

Economic pressure on Iran also intensified Friday. The Trump administration moved to restrict the operations of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, in the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of acting as an economic lifeline for Iran’s leadership. Under a proposed U.S. Treasury rule, the bank’s Emirati branches would lose access to the U.S. financial system.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the latest U.S. measures as “economic terrorism” and said Tehran would use all available means to respond. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington aimed to further isolate Iran economically and warned countries continuing business with Tehran that they could face secondary sanctions.

Separately, the United Kingdom warned Israel against removing British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center, saying such an action would damage joint efforts to carry out the 20-point Gaza peace plan. Israel has already removed two Dutch diplomats from the center following Dutch measures involving Israeli products from the occupied West Bank.

As of Friday, there was no immediate Israeli explanation for the reported Khan Younis deaths, and the circumstances of all three strikes remained unclear. The Gaza ceasefire and the reported civilian casualties remain under close scrutiny.