Israeli Strike Kills Teenage Girl on Her Way to School Exam in Gaza City

An Israeli airstrike killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl on Monday as she walked to a high school examination in Gaza City, according to her relatives. Raghad Hassan Ashour was heading to an 11th-grade test in the busy Rimal district when the attack occurred, said her relative Jameel Ashour. The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted a Hamas militant and acknowledged a claim that an "uninvolved individual was harmed."

The girl's body was transported to Shifa Hospital, where dozens of mourners, including her mother, gathered. The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that three other people were injured in strikes in the same area. Videos captured after the blast showed groups of people around two destroyed vehicles, rescue workers at the scene, and bloodstains on the ground.

Israel has continued to launch strikes in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October. The military asserts it targets Hamas and other militants posing a threat and accuses the group of violating the truce. However, civilians have continued to be killed in such operations. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli operations have killed over 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire was implemented, while five Israeli soldiers have died during the same period.

The broader conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent military offensive in Gaza has resulted in over 73,018 Palestinian deaths, including those occurring after the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, run by the Hamas-led government but staffed by medical professionals, is generally considered reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians but reports that women and children constitute about half of all casualties.