Israel targets Palestinian family in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City

CAIRO – 18 October 2025: Israeli occupation forces carried out a new attack targeting a Palestinian family in the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, on Friday afternoon, according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza.

Bassal stated via his Telegram account that Israeli forces struck a civilian vehicle carrying members of the Shaaban family after it crossed the Yellow Line east of the city. The vehicle was carrying 11 civilians, including seven children and two women, all from the same family.

"It would have been possible to warn them or deal with them in a way that didn’t result in death. However, what happened confirms that the occupation remains bloodthirsty and determined to commit crimes against innocent civilians," he said.

The family had been attempting to check on their home in the area.

Bassal added that civil defense teams had received coordination from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to access the site and respond to the aftermath of the attack.

In response, the Hamas Movement issued a statement condemning the strike, calling it a “full-fledged crime” that demonstrates the Israeli occupation’s “premeditated intent to target defenseless civilians without justification.”

“This massacre occurs within the context of the occupation's continuous violations of the recently reached ceasefire agreement, as the Zionist enemy persists in carrying out assaults and crimes against our people, in flagrant violation of all commitments stipulated in the agreement, confirming its aggressive intentions,” Hamas added.

It continued: “This horrific crime is added to the occupation's long record of massacres and violations, confirming that the blood of our children and women remains a direct target for the Zionist killing machine, which brutally tramples all human values and international laws.”

Hamas called on President Trump and other mediators to follow up the criminal occupation's violations, fulfill their role in obligating it to respect the ceasefire agreement, and stop targeting Palestinian people and endangering their lives.

“We also call on the international community and its rights and humanitarian groups to assume their responsibilities, pressure to stop the war crimes and genocide against our people, and hold the criminal occupation leaders accountable for their crimes against humanity,” it said.

A ceasefire in Gaza strip between Hamas and Israel took effect on Friday and all 20 living captives and some of the deceased, who had been held in Gaza since October 2023, were released this week as Hamas and Israel approved the initial phase of the deal.