Israeli Strike Kills Gaza Couple and Two Daughters

An Israeli strike on a home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, killed a Palestinian couple and their two young daughters early Thursday, according to hospital officials and residents, in one of the deadliest single incidents reported since a ceasefire took effect in October 2025. The bodies were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Palestinian sources identified the victims as Momen Abdul-Rahman Ahmad, his wife Haneen Mousa Fares Saleh, and their daughters, 12-year-old Lana and 8-year-old Bana. A neighbor, Zuheir al-Heisami, said the strike occurred at around 2 a.m. while the family was asleep, and said at the hospital that nothing could justify attacking the home. Rescue teams recovered the four bodies from the destroyed building, and local reports said an unspecified number of people remained missing beneath the rubble. The Israeli military said the strike eliminated a militant who had taken part in attacks against its forces, without providing details or mentioning the woman and children who were killed. There was no independent verification of either account, and it remains unclear whether any member of the family was the militant the military described.