At least three Palestinians were killed and several others wounded when an Israeli drone struck a vehicle near the Abu Khadra Mosque in the Rimal neighbourhood of western Gaza City, medical sources and witnesses said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, described Thursday’s explosion as the first in the area after a few days of relative calm. Witnesses told reporters the target appeared to be a jeep carrying civilians; only one of the three victims has been publicly identified as Abdul Jawad Abu Lebn, who was reportedly due to be married next week and whose wedding invitations were found inside the vehicle.
“Minutes after the strike, locals said the target was a jeep driven by civilians,” Khoudary said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli fire wounded a fisherman off Gaza’s coast and injured a man near Khan Younis in the south. Al Jazeera correspondents also reported that a girl was killed by Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
Casualties and Wider Toll
Gaza’s Health Ministry says that since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October, at least 1,007 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, bringing the enclave’s overall reported death toll to 73,018 since 7 October 2023. These figures reflect the Health Ministry’s counts and are cited by local authorities.
Reconstruction Plans and Controls on the Ground
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) said it has finalised priorities for recovery and reconstruction and will be ready to begin field operations “once conditions permit.” The committee, composed of independent Palestinian technocrats, said the announcement followed a coordination meeting in Cairo with British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss recovery priorities, including support for the health sector, infrastructure rehabilitation and measures to stimulate the local economy.
The NCAG said it is overseen by a Board of Peace and listed several public figures as part of that board. The committee’s statement also noted continuing uncertainty over reconstruction, citing maps shared with aid organisations in March that show the Israeli military controls about 64 percent of the Gaza Strip — up from the roughly 53 percent envisaged under the ceasefire — and media reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to expand control further.
Displacement and Rights Concerns
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reported that Israeli forces have pushed the so-called “Yellow Line” deeper into Gaza City, changing the boundary of areas under Israeli military control and forcing dozens of residents to leave their homes in the Tuffah neighbourhood. Rights groups and Palestinian officials warn that continued expansion of areas under military control could further constrain movement and impede recovery efforts.
Related Violence in the West Bank
Violence has continued in the occupied West Bank. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye condemned what they described as an escalation in Israeli settler violence following attacks on mosques north of Ramallah. Reports said settlers set fire to parts of the Great Mosque in Jiljilya and spray-painted racist slogans on its walls.
Palestinian officials also reported that Israeli authorities issued demolition orders for nine inhabited homes in the town of ash-Shuyukh, northeast of Hebron. Observers say these developments form part of a wider pattern of increased settler attacks, settlement expansion and new outpost establishment across the West Bank.
The situation remains volatile, and humanitarian and reconstruction initiatives will depend on security conditions and access for aid organisations.
