Israeli strike kills teenage cousins gathering firewood in northern Gaza
Two Palestinian children were killed on Saturday while gathering firewood in an Israeli drone strike in northern Gaza, in the latest violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The strike hit the Beit Lahia project area near Kamal Adwan Hospital, medical sources in Gaza said. The victims were identified as 13-year-old Salman al-Zawarah, and his 15-year-old cousin Mohammed al-Zawarah.
The killings came a few days after two infants died from extreme cold and dehydration caused by exposure to sewage pollution in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, the deaths brought the number of children who have died from hypothermia since the start of the winter season to 10.
As Israeli destruction and the blockade turn winter into a deadly season for children, shelter supplies remain insufficient to meet the immense needs further exacerbated by harsh weather conditions.
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After nearly two years of bombing, Israeli forces have destroyed around 90 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure since October 2023, displacing most of the population into temporary, worn-out tents without adequate heating.
The United Nations says an estimated one million people across Gaza urgently require emergency shelter assistance.
In October, Israel and Hamas signed an agreement to end Israel's war on Gaza and ease restrictions, but the UN aid coordination office, Ocha, said “the humanitarian situation and crisis in Gaza is far from being over.”
With the killing of the children on Saturday, the number of people killed since the ceasefire on 11 October, 2025, has risen to 483, while the total number of injured has reached 1,313, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
Medical teams have also recovered 713 bodies during the same period.
The UN says it recorded the killing of at least 216 Palestinians, including at least 46 children and 28 women, in Israeli attacks in the same period far from the so-called “yellow line,” mainly targeting shelters for internally displaced persons and residential buildings.
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