At least three Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded after an Israeli drone struck a vehicle near Abu Khadra Mosque in the Rimal neighbourhood of western Gaza City, according to medical sources.
Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said the attack on Thursday was the first explosion in the area after a few “calm and quiet†days.
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“Minutes after the strike, locals said the target was a jeep driven by civilians,†Khoudary said. “Only one of the three victims has been identified: Abdul Jawad Abu Lebn [who] was set to get married next week. Wedding invitations were found inside the car.â€
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli fire wounded a fisherman off Gaza's coast and a man near Khan Younis in the south, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
A girl was also killed in Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera's correspondents on the ground.
The latest series of deadly attacks comes despite a US-brokered “ceasefire†announced in October last year.
Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 1,007 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect, bringing the overall death toll in the enclave to 73,018 since October 7, 2023.
Peace Board plans for Gaza
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) said on Thursday that it had finalised priorities for recovery and reconstruction and was ready to begin field operations “once conditions permitâ€.
The NCAG, which is composed of independent Palestinian technocrats, said the announcement followed a coordination meeting in Cairo with British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss recovery and reconstruction priorities in Gaza.
“The meeting reviewed the committee's vision for the next phase, including support for the health sector, rehabilitation of infrastructure and stimulation of the local economy,†the committee said in a statement.
The committee is overseen by the Board of Peace, which it said includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
However, prospects for reconstruction remain uncertain as Israel continues to expand the territory under its military control inside Gaza. The Israeli military now controls about 64 percent of the Gaza Strip, up from the 53 percent envisaged under the ceasefire agreement, according to maps shared with aid organisations in March.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) says Israeli forces have since pushed the so-called “Yellow Line†deeper into Gaza City. The line marks the boundary of areas controlled by the Israeli military, beyond which Palestinians risk coming under fire if they enter.
According to the rights group, Israeli troops recently shifted the boundary in the Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City, forcing dozens of residents from their homes.
The warning comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to expand its control of Gaza to 70 percent of the territory, according to remarks reported by Israeli media, raising concerns among Palestinians and rights groups that the continued expansion of military-controlled zones could amount to ethnic cleansing.
Countries condemn West Bank mosque attack
Amid continued Israeli attacks in Gaza, violence has not halted in the occupied West Bank.
In a joint statement on Thursday, eight countries condemned what they described as an escalation in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, following attacks on mosques north of Ramallah.
The foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye denounced recent attacks on the Great Mosque in Jiljilya and the Farouk Mosque in the Nubani area.
The ministers said the attacks constituted a “clear violation of the sanctity of places of worship and religious sites†as well as “international law, including international humanitarian law, and relevant United Nations resolutionsâ€.
The statement came after Israeli settlers allegedly set fire to parts of the Great Mosque in Jiljilya on Tuesday and spray-painted racist Hebrew slogans on its walls.
Palestinian officials have also said Israeli authorities issued demolition orders for nine inhabited homes in the town of ash-Shuyukh, northeast of Hebron, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
This comes amid a rise in attacks by Israeli settlers, the expansion of existing settlements, and the establishment of new outposts across the occupied West Bank.
