4 said killed in IDF strike near Gaza cemetery where hostage’s body was found

By Noam Lehmann 27 January 2026, 2:08 pm

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Mohammed Al Rifi, right, looks at the body of his brother Yusuf Al Rifi, who was reportedly killed by Israeli fire, according to health officials, being carried into a vehicle before his funeral at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinian media reports four people killed and three wounded in an Israeli strike on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line in Gaza City’s eastern Tuffah neighborhood.

The IDF does not immediately comment on the reports, but regularly says such strikes come in response to ceasefire violations.

According to the reports, the four were killed in the vicinity of Tuffah’s al-Batsh cemetery, where Israel yesterday located the body of the last hostage, Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. The cemetery itself lies on the Israeli-controlled side of Tuffah, close to the ceasefire line.

The four people killed are identified as Mahmoud Lulu, Abdul Qader Abu Khader, Abdul Karim Ghabayen and Yusuf al-Rifi. Rifi’s age is reported in some outlets as 17, while the others’ ages are not immediately reported.

Amid the initial reports, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said in a noon report that hospitals in the Strip had received nine people wounded and the bodies of two people killed by the IDF over the past 24 hours.

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

Casualty reports out of Gaza do not differentiate between civilians and terror operatives.

The ministry also said 12-day-old baby boy Haitham Abu Quss died of cold exposure in Gaza City’s Rantisi children’s hospital. According to the ministry, he is the eleventh child to die of cold exposure this winter.