Israeli airstrike kills Palestinian couple and daughter

An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian couple and their six-year-old daughter in central Gaza on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, as diplomatic efforts to advance a stalled U.S.-brokered peace plan showed little progress. The attack in Deir al-Balah also injured the family's four-year-old son, the sole survivor, and underscored the fragility of a ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10, 2025.

Palestinian health officials identified the victims as Omar Abu Qasem, 33, his wife Asma, 32, and their daughter Habiba, 6. Their son, Sami, sustained moderate injuries. The Israeli military stated the strike targeted a Hamas militant but provided no further details. The attack ignited a fire in the apartment building, which Palestinian civil defense crews extinguished.

The incident was part of a series of Israeli military actions reported across Gaza on Wednesday. In Gaza City, an airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood killed one person, according to medics. In northern Gaza, a child was reported injured in a drone strike on a rehabilitation center, while military vehicles opened fire in the Jabalia area. No casualties were reported from drone activity near Khan Younis in the south.