Israeli forces conducted airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians, as the region marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas. The strikes triggered loud explosions across the Gaza-Israel border, audible even at the site of the Nova music festival, where family members gathered at dawn to remember more than 300 people killed in a similar attack three years prior.
According to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, two individuals were killed in an Israeli strike overnight. Gaza’s civil defence agency, which functions as an emergency rescue organization under Hamas, identified one of the deceased as Mohamed Tamous, a volunteer with the agency. The Israeli military confirmed that it had targeted and killed two members of Hamas’s military wing near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. The military said one of the men was planting explosives near the so-called Yellow Line—the boundary separating areas held by Hamas from those under Israeli military control—with the intent of attacking Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops. The military also identified Mohamed Tamous among those killed, describing him as a Hamas sniper who was simultaneously affiliated with Gaza’s civil defence.
In the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, officials at Nasser Hospital reported that a 60-year-old man, Hisham Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, was killed in a separate Israeli strike. Additional casualties were reported, but their conditions were not detailed.
The anniversary of the Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent military response underscored the protracted humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, living conditions in the coastal territory remain dire. Residents continue to face severe shortages, displacement, and destruction. Mahmoud Abu Hasira, a Gaza City resident, characterized the territory as “uninhabitable” after three years of siege, killing, and infrastructure devastation.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians live in crowded tent cities and makeshift shelters erected on beaches or near the ruins of bombed residential areas. Bassam Nasser, displaced from the northern town of Beit Hanoun early in the conflict, said families still mourn those whose bodies remain trapped beneath rubble in what has become a largely destroyed city.
Israel asserts control over roughly 60 percent of Gaza, primarily in outlying perimeter areas such as Beit Hanoun. The remaining territory, where the majority of Palestinians reside, is controlled by Hamas. Although Israel has partially eased restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries following the ceasefire, residents report that daily life remains extremely difficult. Ahmed Nasser, a Gaza City inhabitant, described ongoing hardships despite the limited easing of the blockade.