STORY: :: Graphic warning
Lafi Al-Najjar is blind, and lives in a tent in Khan Younis with his wife.
Last month, one of his sons was killed in an Israeli strike.
He says, "the war is still ongoing, it stopped in the announcement, but in reality and on the ground, the war has not stopped.
:: Gaza City, Gaza / May 9, 2026
A truce brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump in October paused major military operations in Gaza.
But Israel has escalated its attacks in Gaza in the five weeks since halting its joint bombing with the U.S. in Iran...
...redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian enclave where the military believes Hamas fighters are tightening their grip.
Conflict monitor ACLED, which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said in a monthly report for April that Israel had carried out 35% more attacks last month than in March.
:: Gaza City, Gaza / May 7, 2026
The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on the reasons for its stepped-up strikes in Gaza.
Four Israeli defense officials have told Reuters that the military had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that Hamas has been tightening its grip, rebuilding its forces and making weapons.
One Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Gaza ceasefire allows for Israel to act against imminent threats.
The official said the military was prepared for any scenario, including having drawn up wider battle plans for a resumption of fighting in Gaza, though no such order had yet been given.
:: Gaza City, Gaza / May 11, 2026
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, were killed in Gaza since the Iran war was paused on April 8.
Zaher al-Wahidi is the head of the information unit at the Ministry of Health.
"April was the bloodiest month, as the percentage of martyrs increased by more than 50 percent compared to previous months. The Israeli occupation was not satisfied with the siege, was not satisfied with the destruction, was not satisfied with what it did during more than two continuous years of war."
:: Deir al-Balah, Gaza / April 11, 2026
Some 850 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire, according to figures that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants during the same period. Hamas does not disclose figures for casualties among its fighters.
:: February 19, 2026
TRUMP: "The war in Gaza is over. It's over."
The increase in Israeli strikes on Gaza is a further sign of stalled progress under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to halt the war there and begin reconstruction.
Israeli forces still occupy more than half of Gaza's territory, where they have demolished most remaining buildings and ordered all residents out.
More than 2 million people now live in a tiny strip of territory along the coast, mainly in damaged structures or makeshift tents, where Hamas fighters have de facto control.
