IDF says strike targeted 2 Gazans who crossed Yellow Line, planted bombs near troops

Palestinian media identifies two fatalities as brothers aged 14 and 15, says they were collecting firewood when hit; 3-month-old Palestinian said to die from cold exposure

By Emanuel Fabian

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and Noam Lehmann 24 January 2026, 4:51 pm

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The Israeli Air Force struck and killed several Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the ceasefire line and planted explosives near troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the operatives were identified crossing the Yellow Line, planting a bomb in the ground, and approaching troops of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”

The IAF then struck and “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the military said.

Palestinian media reported that two boys were killed in a drone strike in the Strip’s north around noon Saturday. They were identified as Mohammad and Suleiman al-Zawar’a, ages 15 and 14, respectively.

According to the reports, they were killed while collecting firewood near the now-defunct Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is situated on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line.

Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.

Mourners carry the body of Anas Ghoneim, one of the three Palestinian journalists who were killed in an Israeli strike on an Egyptian committee’s vehicle, during his funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Meanwhile, Gaza hospitals have received twelve people wounded and four people killed by the IDF over the past 48 hours, the Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry said Saturday.

It did not identify the dead, say where the people were killed, wounded, or specify the severity of the wounds.

Mohaed Abu Selmiya, director of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, was cited by The Associated Press on Thursday, saying the hospital received the bodies of four Palestinians killed by IDF tank shelling in eastern Gaza City. The IDF has not commented, but attributes such strikes to ceasefire violations by Hamas.

According to Palestinian media, the four people were killed on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line. They were not identified in the reports.

The Hamas-run ministry also said in its daily report Saturday that a three-month-old baby boy died of cold exposure in Gaza. He was identified as Ali Abu Zur.

The ministry said he died at the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the Strip’s center. Palestinian media reported he died on Thursday.

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli forces have killed over 400 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire-hostage agreement took effect in October, according to the Gaza health ministry, over two years after Hamas invaded southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled ministry’s toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and gunmen.

The United Nations children’s agency said earlier in January that over 100 of the Gazans killed during the ceasefire were children.