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// DOSSIER — israeli-strikes-gaza-west-bank-threaten-ceasefire
Israeli Strikes in Gaza and West Bank Threaten Fragile Ceasefire
REL_TIME: 29 Aug 2026 14:12Z · LANG: EN
Despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire established in October 2025, a series of Israeli airstrikes and military operations in late August 2026 have killed numerous Palestinians, including several young children, in Gaza and the West Bank. In Gaza, strikes killed a four-year-old boy, a ten-year-old girl, and three members of a single family, while also destroying critical humanitarian infrastructure, including a UNICEF-supported water facility and a nutrition warehouse. In the West Bank, Israel conducted a rare airstrike in Jenin as part of Operation 'Iron Wall,' killing three alleged militants, including senior operative Qais Bitawi. The escalating violence has drawn sharp condemnation from Hamas and international humanitarian organizations, with UN representatives warning of a potential collapse of the ceasefire.
// Background
A U.S.-backed ceasefire brokered in October 2025 temporarily halted major combat operations in Gaza, but low-level conflict has persisted. Israel has continued targeted strikes to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its underground infrastructure, resulting in over 1,300 Palestinian deaths since the truce. Tensions have also escalated in the occupied West Bank, where Israel launched Operation 'Iron Wall' in early 2025 to target militant networks in refugee camps, leading to significant displacement and casualties.
// Key Developments
- Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed multiple civilians, including four-year-old Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha and ten-year-old Amal Abu Khater.
- A rare Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin killed three individuals, including senior militant Qais Bitawi, amid Operation 'Iron Wall'.
- UNICEF reported that four children were killed in five days, and critical infrastructure—including a $770,000 nutrition warehouse and a desalination plant—was destroyed.
- Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
- Israel threatened to intensify strikes in response to drones, balloons, and kites launched from Gaza, classifying kite-flying as an act of terrorism.
// Timeline
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A U.S.-backed ceasefire takes effect, halting major combat but failing to end localized military strikes.
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Israeli forces strike and kill senior Hamas militant Sharif Al-Hasnat in Deir Al-Balah.
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Israeli airstrikes in Zawayda and Nuseirat kill at least two people, including four-year-old Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha; in the West Bank, 14-year-old Islam Ajjouri is shot dead during a raid.
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Israeli fire kills ten-year-old Amal Abu Khater in Khan Younis and a four-year-old boy in Bureij; a UNICEF-supported water facility in Deir al-Balah is severely damaged.
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Five children are injured by live fire and shrapnel, and a partner warehouse containing $770,000 in nutrition supplies is heavily damaged.
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Israeli airstrikes kill five people in Gaza, including three family members in Al-Qarara, and three militants in a rare West Bank airstrike in Jenin.
// Perspectives
[Israeli Government and Military]
Maintains that military operations and airstrikes are defensive measures necessary to thwart Hamas infrastructure, prevent militant attacks, and stop the launch of drones, balloons, and kites from Gaza.
[Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad]
Accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire, committing massacres against civilians, and undermining international peace efforts, while asserting their right to resist occupation.
[UNICEF and UN Humanitarian Bodies]
Condemn the killing and maiming of children, demand the protection of civilian infrastructure, and call for rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
// Quotes
“There is no ceasefire, there is nothing... We want solutions, we want to live in peace.”
“Children are being killed and injured, while those who survive are seeing essential services and supplies that they depend on destroyed.”
“These are the fruits of the aggressive and proactive policy we are leading in the West Bank: we do not wait for terror – we pursue it, conquer its strongholds and thwart its people.”
“Every use of force that does not answer an immediate threat, and every incident that the deconfliction mechanism was not asked to resolve, costs this process something very hard to buy back.”
