Six months after a ceasefire agreement was signed in October 2025, Israeli attacks in Gaza continue to kill civilians on a near-daily basis, with more than 760 Palestinians reported dead since the deal came into effect—an average of four people killed every day, including at least 180 children.
While global attention has shifted in recent weeks—particularly since early March 2026, amid escalating tensions involving Iran and Lebanon—the violence in Gaza has persisted largely out of the international spotlight.
On April 14, 2026, one of the deadliest incidents occurred on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, where an Israeli airstrike targeted a police vehicle traveling through a crowded civilian area. Among those killed was three-year-old Yahya Al-Malahi.
His family had been returning from a relative’s wedding when the strike hit.
“I wish it had been me instead of you,” his father, Mukhlis Al-Malahi, said as he mourned over his son’s body at Al-Shifa Hospital that same day.
Yahya had been riding on his uncle’s back at the time of the strike. “I felt I was hit… then I found my son, his head was split open,” his father said.
The April 14 strike killed at least five people, including two police officers and a detainee. Witnesses said the attack took place in a densely populated street, injuring several civilians nearby.
“The little boy was martyred… his crime was that he was a Palestinian child,” said a relative, Hader Al-Malahi. “Instead of wearing a suit, he is now wearing a shroud.”
That same day—April 14, 2026—at least seven additional Palestinians were killed in separate attacks across Gaza, including five people killed near Shati refugee camp and a 14-year-old boy killed near Jabaliya.
The pattern of violence has continued despite the ceasefire framework established in October 2025, which was supposed to reduce hostilities and lead to a phased Israeli withdrawal. Instead, Israeli forces have maintained military control over large portions of Gaza—reportedly up to 60% of the territory—and have continued strikes, restrictions on aid, and limitations on movement.
Humanitarian organizations say conditions remain dire.
“Six months on, the ceasefire has failed to end the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” said Claire San Filippo of Doctors Without Borders in a recent statement issued in April 2026. “Israeli attacks are continuous and the situation remains catastrophic.”
Since October 2025, the organization says it has treated more than 40,000 trauma injuries in Gaza, many caused by gunshots and explosive blasts.
Another incident that has drawn attention occurred on April 9, 2026, when nine-year-old Ritaj Rihan was shot and killed while attending class in a makeshift school in Beit Lahia.
The school—comprised of tents and basic wooden structures—was located approximately two kilometers from Israeli military positions.
“The girl was in a classroom, among her classmates,” said teacher Ayman Rihan, speaking on April 9 at Al-Shifa Hospital. “She was writing in her notebook when she was hit… and killed instantly.”
Her death has intensified fears that no location in Gaza—whether homes, streets, or schools—can be considered safe.
Ritaj’s mother, Ola Rihan, described receiving the news shortly after sending her daughter to school that morning on April 9.
“She went to school like every other day,” she said. “I thought maybe she was injured… then they told me: your daughter has been killed.”
“She went on her own two feet and came back to me on a stretcher,” she added.
Her father, Abdul Raouf Rihan, who had walked her to school earlier that day, said the killing exposed the reality behind the ceasefire.
“My daughter went out to learn, not to fight,” he said. “As for the ceasefire, it is a big lie.”
International reaction has begun to grow, albeit slowly. On April 15, 2026, a group of approximately 350 former European ministers, ambassadors, and senior officials issued a joint statement calling on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel, citing what they described as systematic violations of international law.
They warned that, as global attention shifted toward broader regional conflicts in March and April 2026, Israel had intensified its operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
For civilians inside Gaza, however, such diplomatic pressure has yet to translate into meaningful change.
“There is nowhere safe to go,” said Ritaj’s mother. “They destroyed our homes… Gaza is exhausted.”
Six months after the ceasefire was announced in October 2025, the continued daily toll of deaths—and the steady stream of children among them—has led many residents to question whether the war ever truly paused.
“As long as blood is spilled every day,” Ritaj’s father said, “the war has not ended.”