Overnight Israeli Strikes Kill Three Across Gaza; Infant Dies After Exposure

Medical sources say three Palestinians were killed and seven others wounded in Israeli strikes across several areas of the Gaza Strip overnight, marking the latest breach of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Al Jazeera and local sources reported that raids into Sunday hit Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Zeitoun neighbourhood in southeastern Gaza City, and other districts across the besieged enclave.

In one incident, medical sources told Al Jazeera that an Israeli quadcopter fired on and killed a man who was being transported to a hospital in Khan Younis. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said two men were shot dead by Israeli forces east of Zeitoun. Wafa also reported artillery shelling in the eastern parts of the Tuffah and Zeitoun neighbourhoods, followed later by gunfire from military vehicles.

The agency added that Israeli jets struck areas in the eastern Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and hit Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the north. It also reported that Israeli navy vessels shelled northern coastal zones.

Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Gaza City, described the period as "a very dizzying escalation," saying drones could be heard over central Gaza City and eastern communities and that some attacks were taking place beyond the agreed "yellow line" intended to mark ceasefire front lines.

He added that there was "widescale flattening of buildings" in Rafah, Khan Younis and the Jabalia refugee camp, and suggested the operations may be aimed at expanding areas under Israeli military control ahead of further negotiations. Teams are documenting demolitions and strikes in spaces that had previously been evacuated, raising questions about whether these actions represent security enforcement or territorial reshaping under the cover of the ceasefire.

Separately, the Israeli military said its forces had killed three Palestinians in southern and northern Gaza neighbourhoods, claiming those killed posed a threat to Israeli troops and that one had stolen military equipment. It was not immediately possible to confirm whether those incidents correspond to the fatalities reported by Gaza medical and media sources.

In a separate humanitarian tragedy, medical sources reported that a seven-day-old infant, identified as Mahmoud al-Aqraa, died in Deir el-Balah after exposure to extreme cold as shortages of shelter and supplies worsened. Many families remain in makeshift tents that offer little protection from strong winds and rain, with most shelters made of thin canvas and plastic sheeting.

Local authorities and humanitarian groups say Israel continues to restrict or limit the entry of essential items — including tents, mobile homes and building materials needed to repair shelters — which they say is deepening the humanitarian crisis and hampering reconstruction. Night-time temperatures in Gaza have fallen to around 9°C (48°F) in recent days.

The Gaza Civil Defence warned of a "catastrophe" after a low-pressure weather system caused extensive damage to temporary shelters, saying thousands of tents were destroyed or badly damaged. Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said: 'What is happening is not a weather crisis alone, but the result of preventing the entry of building materials and disrupting reconstruction, leaving people in torn tents and cracked houses without safety or dignity.'

According to United Nations agencies, nearly 80 percent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during more than two years of conflict, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.