KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday — including three charity workers at a community kitchen in Deir el-Balah

• Additional deaths were recorded in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya in the same wave of attacks

• Hamas called the kitchen strike "a deliberate war crime and a renewed scene of the ongoing genocide"

• Gaza's Health Ministry confirmed at least 72,760 Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023 — including 871 since the so-called ceasefire began last October

• Israel's military occupies approximately 60% of Gaza's territory behind a self-declared "yellow line" buffer zone

• The Israeli army claimed it killed a Hamas commander identified as Bahaa Baroud — Hamas has not confirmed this

• A person was also killed inside the buffer zone — the army claimed without evidence the victim was armed and posed an imminent threat

Israel Strikes a Community Kitchen in Gaza — Three Charity Workers Killed

Israeli forces struck a community kitchen in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on Sunday, killing three charity workers serving food to a civilian population already facing severe hunger — as Israeli attacks across the strip killed at least five Palestinians in a single day, pushing the total death toll since October 2023 to at least 72,760.

The strike on the kitchen was not an isolated incident — it was part of a broader wave of Sunday attacks that also claimed lives in Khan Younis in the south and Beit Lahiya in the north.

The Deir el-Balah Strike: Who Was Killed and Why It Matters

All three victims in Deir el-Balah were charity workers — people staffing a community kitchen providing food to displaced and starving civilians in one of the most densely affected areas of Gaza.

"This shows that Israel is not only targeting people, but also organisations serving the community across Gaza," said a correspondent reporting from Gaza City.

Community kitchens have become a lifeline for Gaza's civilian population as Israel's siege has gutted food supply chains — making strikes on these facilities not just deadly but strategically devastating for civilian survival infrastructure.

Hamas Responds: 'Deliberate War Crime'

Hamas condemned the kitchen strike in direct terms — calling it a calculated act rather than a military accident.

"A deliberate war crime and a renewed scene of the ongoing genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip," the group said in a statement Sunday.

Hamas also pointed to the international community's response — or lack of it.

"This occurs amid an unjustified international silence and inaction that emboldens the occupation to continue its massacres, in blatant disregard for all international values, norms, and laws," the statement added.

The Death Toll: What the Numbers Show

Gaza's Health Ministry published updated figures Sunday that place the full scale of the killing in stark relief.

Key Statistics

• Total killed since October 7, 2023: At least 72,760 Palestinians

• Killed since the so-called ceasefire began last October: At least 871

• Sunday's confirmed deaths: At least 5 — Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis, Beit Lahiya

Gaza territory under Israeli military occupation: Approximately 60% — demarcated by a self-declared "yellow line" buffer zone

The ceasefire figure is particularly significant — 871 Palestinians killed during a period that was supposed to mark a pause in hostilities.

The Buffer Zone Killing and the Hamas Commander Claim

Inside the Israeli military's self-declared buffer zone on Sunday, the army said its forces shot and killed a person it described — without providing evidence — as armed and posing an imminent threat to soldiers.

The army also claimed it killed a Hamas commander named Bahaa Baroud in Sunday's operations.

Hamas has not confirmed Baroud's death, and no independent verification was immediately available.