Gaza airstrike kills woman and child as reports cite land razing near Deir el-Balah
A tent camped along Gaza’s southern coast was hit before dawn on Monday, killing a Palestinian woman and a young girl and wounding another child, in an attack that renewed fears among families who have been repeatedly displaced by the war. The strike landed in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, an expanse that many civilians have treated as a last refuge as fighting and evacuation orders have pushed them south. [3]
The Independent reported that the tent had been sheltering a displaced family when it was struck on May 25, 2026, and that a Kuwait field hospital said another girl was wounded. The Israeli military, according to the same report, said it had struck a militant but provided no further details. [3]
Separate reporting has focused on the physical reshaping of the enclave’s center, describing what it called “extensive razing of land east of Deir el-Balah” in an area that remained under Israeli control during May. Al Jazeera attributed the description to the Gaza Rights Center and placed it alongside accounts of continued military activity despite intermittent ceasefire arrangements. [1]
In interviews cited by Al Jazeera, Egyptian commentator Mai El-Sheikh warned that “a humanitarian disaster was being deliberately engineered by Israel through restrictions on food and medicine in order to spread panic among displaced families,” and argued that Israel had transformed the “ceasefire” into “cover for its ongoing war crimes.” The same reporting said analysts and human rights officials believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was stalling the peace process to satisfy right-wing coalition allies and voters ahead of Israel’s September 2026 election. [2]
The latest deaths come in a conflict whose modern arc stretches back to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza, and now unfolds against an international push for a political settlement following the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan launch in January 2026. For families in Mawasi, the immediate question after Monday’s strike was more basic: where, if anywhere, remains safe.
How it's being framed
Restrictions on food and medicine aim to spread panic among displaced families.
Ceasefire terms function as cover for continuing war crimes, in this view.
Land clearing east of Deir el-Balah signals continuing ground pressure in Israeli-controlled areas.
“"a humanitarian disaster was being deliberately engineered by Israel through restrictions on food and medicine in order to spread panic among displaced families." — Mai El-Sheikh”
— Al Jazeera
An airstrike hit a tent housing a displaced family in Mawasi, killing a woman and a young girl.
A hospital reported another girl suffered wounds.
Israel’s military said it struck a militant but provided no further details.
On-the-ground reporting centers on immediate casualties and the circumstances of strikes on displacement sites, while noting limited military explanations.
Netanyahu stalls the peace process to appease right-wing coalition allies.
Election pressures ahead of September 2026 influence ceasefire decision-making.
Political analysis emphasizes Netanyahu’s coalition math and election timing, arguing domestic incentives shape how long negotiations drag on.
Timeline· Developing
Since the Donald Trump administration's Gaza peace plan launch in January 2026, the region has endured a multifaceted crisis marked by Hamas's October 7 terror attack and subsequent deadly rampages across southern Israel, severe Israeli military reprisals including intensified siege tactics and escalated attacks on Gaza such as the storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital resulting in civilian deaths and the detention of Dr Abu Safiya, multiple hostage releases including the recent handover of deceased Israeli captives' bodies by Hamas to Israel via the Red Cross with Hamas vowing to return the rest, EU sanctions, Israeli legal actions, extended truces and ceasefire agreements brokered by international actors—including the most recent one-day extension of the ceasefire by the Israeli Defense Forces—reports of atrocities including the 2025 massacre of Gaza aid workers and the killing of six Gaza journalists, U.S. arms sales amid growing domestic opposition, widespread protests met with police crackdowns, diplomatic efforts including Turkey's unprecedented talks with Hamas and Israel's mediators sent to Qatar, missile attacks from Yemen, targeted Israeli strikes killing Hamas leaders, U.S. sanctions on a U.N. expert, interception of Gaza-bound aid flotillas involving activists like Greta Thunberg and Catherine Connolly’s sister with ensuing international tensions and protests, a new Greta Thunberg aid flotilla planned from Spain, a significant U.S.-China diplomatic agreement to prevent escalation, Israel's intensified siege on Qalandia Refugee Camp alongside settlement expansions, the second meeting between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu focused on negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza, ongoing drone attacks and explosions targeting aid shipments, admissions of Hamas use of Gaza hospitals as safe havens, reports of violence during flotilla interceptions, reopening of Gaza's Rafah border crossing under the 2026 ceasefire, a US, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye-brokered three-phase ceasefire deal, emerging financial challenges threatening reconstruction efforts highlighted by Trump's Board of Peace funding shortfall, Steve Witkoff and Huckabee's recent visits to assess Gaza's humanitarian crisis amid starvation reports, the release and deportation of Australian flotilla activists by Israel amid backlash, Ireland’s President Connolly expressing pride in her detained sister en route to Gaza, Israeli military detaining and deporting Irish activists from international waters after intercepting a Gaza-bound flotilla, Israel's formation of a secret elite unit to target the October 7 Hamas attackers, the recent killing of six Gaza journalists by Israel drawing global condemnation including the bombing of Al Jazeera journalists and blocking the rescue of a cameraman, the latest Gaza-bound ‘Conscience’ aid flotilla sailing amid anticipation of Israeli interception, most recently, Irish activists detained by Israel after Gaza aid flotilla and deported to Turkey, a Jewish Voice for Peace doctor occupying a Washington Senator’s office calling urgently for a ceasefire amid Gaza’s collapsing health system, the UN Security Council advancing a meeting on Gaza ceasefire and West Bank, the US vetoing another Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council, the US ramping up diplomacy around a Gaza cease-fire with envoy Vance traveling to Israel, Netanyahu delaying the Gaza ceasefire deal signing amid disputes with Hamas, President Biden announcing a temporary Gaza aid port mission, Israel killing 61 people in Gaza City and at least 100 across the enclave, Israeli troops storming Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza killing civilians and detaining Dr Abu Safiya, revelations that a Gaza doctor who publicly condemned Israel in New York Times op-eds is in fact a Hamas colonel seen in military uniform, eyewitness video showing an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis, Australian flotilla activists arriving home alleging sexual assault and beatings in Israeli detention, most recently Australian Gaza aid flotilla activists alleging abuse after Israeli abduction, Israel escalating Gaza attacks as Netanyahu stalls the ceasefire amid upcoming polls, Hamas expanding its search for the remains of hostages in Gaza, and the recent handover of deceased Israeli captives' bodies to Israel by Hamas via the Red Cross, underscoring the enduring humanitarian, security, diplomatic, and informational complexities in the region.
Trump launches phase two, offers Hamas disarmament
Trump launched phase two of his Gaza peace effort and his mediators formally offered Hamas a proposal to give up its weapons in Gaza, framing disarmament as a central condition for moving forward. This set the negotiating terms that would define subsequent ceasefire and deal talks.
Trump releases 20-point peace plan; hostages freed
Trump publicly released a 20-point Gaza peace plan while noting Hamas had not agreed to it; around the same time three Israeli hostages were freed in a prisoner exchange. The plan's publication made its conditions official even as on-the-ground confidence-building measures proceeded.
Ceasefire phase announced; Hamas accepts parts
Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had signed a phase of a Gaza ceasefire, with Israel agreeing to defined conditions (including a reported 60-day pause) and Hamas accepting parts of the plan; bombing eased and some civilians began returning. The partial agreements temporarily reduced violence and enabled humanitarian access in places.
Hamas rejects broader Trump terms; Israel accepts
Reports indicated Hamas rejected Trump's broader terms for ending the conflict while Israel signaled it accepted the proposals and was ready to end the war imminently if conditions were met. The split highlighted the central obstacle — Hamas's unwillingness to fully agree to disarmament and political concessions.
Remaining Israeli hostages released in Gaza
Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a prisoner exchange, marking a significant humanitarian development tied to the ceasefire phase. The releases eased one of the most acute human costs of the conflict and tested the durability of the truce arrangements.
Trump and Netanyahu unveil major Gaza deal
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly unveiled a major Gaza deal and warned Hamas about the consequences of rejecting it, presenting the agreement as a political milestone in the peace effort. The announcement aimed to consolidate international backing while pressing Hamas to accept the plan's terms.
U.S. closes flagship Gaza mission as plan stalls
U.S. officials moved to close the country's flagship Gaza mission amid reports that Trump's peace plan had stalled and key conditions — notably Hamas disarmament — remained unmet. The closure signaled a setback for the initiative and underscored ongoing implementation challenges.
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Sources (3)
Israel escalates Gaza attacks as Netanyahu stalls ceasefire for polls
aljazeera.com
Israel escalates Gaza attacks as Netanyahu stalls ceasefire for polls
aljazeera.com
A Palestinian woman and a young girl were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, officials say
independent.co.uk
Published May 25, 2026
Cited 3 sources · Reviewed 6 during synthesis