Over the past two days, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) documented the killing of 12 Palestinians, including three children, a woman, and an elderly man, and the injury of 21 others in a wave of attacks by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) targeting civilian vehicles, gatherings, homes, tents, and other civilian facilities. In addition, an Israeli special forces unit carried out an infiltration operation in an inhabited neighborhood west of Gaza City.
Among the most significant and recent crimes committed by the IOF was the killing of four Palestinians, including a woman and two children, during an incursion by an Israeli special forces unit on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, in Gaza City, amid heavy Israeli bombardment. During the incursion, the forces arrested a Palestinian internal security police officer. The attack was carried out in an area overcrowded with residents and displaced people, reflecting the continuing pattern of using force indiscriminately and exposing civilians to direct and grave danger.
According to PCHR’s field researchers, at approximately 10:35 on Tuesday, seven armed individuals got out of a white Ford commercial bus near al-Kateebah Yard, west of Gaza City. They began firing at people and vehicles travelling through the area. The armed individuals were dressed in black military uniforms and were carrying machine guns and pistols. Following the shooting, Israeli drones fired approximately 15 missiles within 15 minutes. Some of the strikes targeted two empty vehicles, road intersections, rooftops, and the entrance to the ‘Awad villa on the same street. Following the bombardment, the armed force raided the ‘Awad villa and opened fire directly at Samah Mer’ie Salman al-Khaldi al-‘Arabeed (49), killing her and injuring several of her children. It was later revealed that her husband, Mo’een Mohammed al-‘Arabeed, had been arrested after being injured. He is an internal security police officer in Gaza.
The shooting and bombardment resulted in the killing of three other Palestinians, including a girl and a boy: ‘Abdullah Ahmed ‘Abdullah Hamoudah (13), Lama Mohammed ‘Alaa’ al-Deen Habib (3), and ‘Abdullah Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hayyah (32). Fifteen others sustained varying degrees of injury. According to eyewitness accounts, the operation, including all its stages, lasted approximately 35 minutes before the force withdrew from the area using the bus, vehicles, and motorcycles. It should be noted that the area where the incursion took place is considered one of the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, as it is overcrowded with residents and displaced persons. Also, only a few meters from the targeted villa is ‘Abdel ‘Aziz Private School and Kindergarten, where dozens of children and their teachers were present at the time. They endured the heavy bombardment, which they miraculously survived. They were forced to lie on the ground and take shelter in internal classrooms before being evacuated by ambulance crews.
At around 13:50, an Israeli drone fired a missile at people gathered in front of the Civil Defense Apparatus headquarters in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip. The attack injured four people, including fire officer Yousif Hatem Mohammed Salem (29), who happened to be at the headquarters’ gate at the time of the attack. At around 18:00, medical sources at the Shifa Medical Complex announced his death after he succumbed to his injuries.
At around 9:15 on the same Tuesday, several Israeli military vehicles moved into the Abu al-‘Ajin area, southeast of Deir al-Balah, and began razing operations and shooting towards al-Mazra’a area, east of the area. The shooting injured a girl and a woman while they were inside their homes and tents. They were transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. At around 10:35, medical sources announced the death of Esraa Muneer al-Hessi (10), who succumbed to her critical injuries after sustaining a bullet wound to the chest.
In another incident related to the same incursion, at around 10:20 on the same day, elderly man Talal Isma’il Mahmoud Ziarah (73) arrived at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after sustaining a bullet wound to the abdomen while he was inside his tent in the al-al-Masha’alah area, southwest of Deir al-Balah. Approximately three hours later, medical sources announced his death after he succumbed to his injuries.
At around 14:35 on Monday, 31 August 2026, an Israeli drone fired at least one missile at a civilian vehicle travelling in front of the Bank of Palestine headquarters in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, west of Gaza City. The strike killed three Palestinians inside the vehicle: Baraa’ Ayman Hassan al-Roubi (35), Talal Mustafa Saleh Badawi (37), and Mo’men Sa’eed Mohammed Hawwari (33).
On the same day, at around 11:35, an Israeli drone fired a missile at people gathered in the yard of a house next to al-Haddad Building, opposite the Municipal Park on Omar al-Mukhtar Street in Gaza City. The strike killed two Palestinians, ‘Omar Mohammed Rushdi al-Sarraj (36) and ‘Asim Khaled Tawfiq Abu Abdo (29).
In light of the above, PCHR reiterates its call on the international community to take immediate action to stop Israeli occupation’s crimes against Palestinians, ensure the protection of civilians, and end killings, targeting, destruction, and forced displacement. PCHR further calls for accountability and for taking all necessary measures to hold those responsible accountable, ensuring that perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide do not enjoy impunity.
