GAZA/JERUSALEM – Eleven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday across Gaza amid escalating tensions, according to Palestinian sources.
An Israeli drone strike targeted a civilian vehicle near the Turkish Hospital in al-Zahra city in central Gaza, local sources and witnesses said, noting that the vehicle carried Palestinian photographers working for the Egyptian Committee for Relief to the Gaza Strip.
Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, told Xinhua that the strike killed three people — Mohammed Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaath, and Anas Ghneim — all media workers, and wounded several others.
Later in the day, the Israeli military responded in a statement that the attack targeted “several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas.”
“The strike was conducted in accordance with the required chain of command approvals,” it said, adding that the incident is still under review.
Seperately, three people were killed by Israeli artillery shelling on areas east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, whose bodies were transferred to a nearby hospital, Bassal said.
Three more, including a child, were killed by gunfire and artillery shelling east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, he said, adding that a 13-year-old boy and a 32-year-old woman were killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft conducted three airstrikes on the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, and three more in central Gaza, with helicopters and artillery also striking areas near Khan Younis and west of Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that “IDF troops in the Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”
Hamas on Wednesday accused Israel of deliberately exploiting the failure to recover the last Israeli captive’s body in Gaza to evade its obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
A fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been in effect since Oct 10, 2025. However, at least 466 Palestinians have been killed and 1,294 others injured in Gaza since Oct 11, bringing the total death toll of the to 71,551, with 171,372 injured, according to an update released by Gaza’s health authorities on Tuesday.
UNRWA denies Israeli ownership of property housing
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Wednesday denied Israeli claims of ownership over the property housing its headquarters in .
“Contrary to reports in the media, the Israeli Government does not own or have rights to the property that houses UNRWA’s Sheikh Jarrah compound in East Jerusalem,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a press statement.
Lazzarini described Israeli claims as “false and illegal,” stressing that “there has never been a transfer of property.” He said UNRWA has leased the land from the Jordanian government since 1952 and that it is now being seized “in blatant breach of .”
He said both the International Court of Justice and the UN General Assembly have determined that Israel’s presence in East Jerusalem is illegal and must end as rapidly as possible.
“The Israeli authorities have no sovereign rights in the , and the application of Israeli laws there is unlawful,” he added.
Lazzarini’s remarks came a day after Israel demolished several buildings within the East Jerusalem compound of UNRWA, an action that drew immediate and sharp condemnation from the international community. Israeli authorities also seized UNRWA’s offices in East Jerusalem last month.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem its capital, a claim not recognized internationally, while the UN regards East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Israeli officials have long accused UNRWA of employing Hamas members, which the agency denies.
In October 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning UNRWA, which provides desperately-needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and other areas, from operating in areas under Israeli jurisdiction, and prohibiting Israeli authorities from maintaining contact or cooperation with the agency, a move UNRWA and international bodies say violates international law. Israel then amended the law in December 2025 to ban electricity or water to UNRWA facilities.
Germany declines Trump’s Board of Peace proposal
Germany will not join US President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace in its current form, according to a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel on Wednesday.
The Federal Foreign Office said in an internal government document that while Berlin remains open to dialogue on peace initiatives, joining the so-called Board of Peace proposed by Trump in the present form is not possible, according to the Der Spiegel report.
The document stated that Germany is committed to strengthening the international order with the at its core, while the proposal from the United States was viewed as a “counter-draft” to the United Nations.
The proposal reportedly grants Trump, as “chairman,” extensive decision-making powers. Reflecting this position, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is not expected to attend the signing ceremony planned for Thursday in Davos, according to Der Spiegel.
The Board of Peace was originally proposed as part of a US-drafted 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supporting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Norway won’t join Board of Peace
Norway will not join the US-led or take part in a planned signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, the Norwegian Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday.
In a written statement to the Norwegian news agency NTB, Kristoffer Thoner, state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, said the US proposal “raises a number of questions” that require further dialogue with Washington.
“Norway will therefore not join the setup for the Board of Peace and will consequently not participate in a signing ceremony in Davos,” Thoner said.
The Board of Peace was originally proposed as part of a US-drafted 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supporting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
However, a draft charter of the board, reportedly attached to invitation letters sent to numerous world leaders and obtained by multiple media outlets, makes no reference to Gaza. Instead, it outlines a broader vision of the body as a US-controlled organization intended to help resolve conflicts and wars worldwide, a role traditionally played by the United Nations.
Swedish PM declines US “Board of Peace”
Swedish Prime Minister said on Wednesday that Sweden will not join the so-called “Board of Peace” proposed by US President Donald Trump based on its “current text,” according to Sweden’s public broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
Kristersson made the remarks while attending the annual meeting of the in Davos, Switzerland, the broadcaster reported.
“As the text stands right now, Sweden will not sign,” Kristersson was quoted as saying.
Sveriges Radio said Sweden has not yet issued an official response to the invitation, adding that the matter will be discussed with other European countries.