Israel Continues Strikes in Gaza Despite Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least nine Palestinians on Saturday, March 15, according to Gaza's civil defense, as a nearly two-month-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came under growing strain. NPR reported that two back-to-back strikes hit the town of Beit Lahia and that witnesses described several of the dead as aid workers and journalists, making it the deadliest single incident since the truce took effect.

What happened in Beit Lahia

The Al Khair Foundation, a charity registered in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that eight people, including its volunteers and independent journalists documenting their work, were killed when their vehicles were hit. The charity's founder and chairman, Qasim Rashid Ahmad, told the BBC the team had gone to the area to set up tents and film the effort for the charity's own publicity. He said the camera crew was struck as it returned to a car, and that colleagues who ran to help were then hit by a drone that had followed them to a second vehicle.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate named video editor Bilal Abu Matar and camera operators Mahmoud Al-Sarraj, Bilal Aqila and Mahmoud Asleem among the dead, according to the BBC. Several others were wounded and taken to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Israel's account

The Israel Defense Forces said it had struck "two terrorists who were identified operating a drone that posed a threat to Israeli troops," and then targeted additional people who collected the drone equipment and got into a vehicle, the BBC reported. In a statement on Sunday morning, quoted by NPR, the military said those killed included a person who had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, as well as people it described as "terrorists who operated under the cover of journalists." It said the group had been using the drone to attack Israeli forces. The Al Khair Foundation rejected the allegation and said it has no political affiliation.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem accused Israel of having "committed a horrific massacre in the northern Gaza Strip," while a Hamas statement on Telegram called the strikes a "deliberate sabotage" of efforts to complete the agreement, according to NPR.

A truce under strain

The ceasefire, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, began on January 19 after 15 months of war. Its first phase, which ended on March 1, saw Hamas return dozens of hostages, living and dead, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the BBC reported. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during the ceasefire period, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, as cited by NPR.

Negotiations on what comes next have stalled. Israel has pushed for an extension of the first phase that would free more hostages without committing to a permanent end to the war, while Hamas insists on moving to the second phase, which would include talks on a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Washington has accused Hamas of making "entirely impractical" demands, according to the BBC.

On March 14, Hamas said it was ready to release Edan Alexander, the last living American citizen held in Gaza, along with the bodies of four other dual nationals, NBC News reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office dismissed the offer as "manipulation and psychological warfare," and Reuters reported that Israel rejected it. Under the January deal, the remaining 59 hostages were to be freed in the second phase.

Meanwhile, Israel's halt on aid deliveries into Gaza, imposed to pressure Hamas to accept its terms, is entering its third week. International aid groups have warned of severe effects on Gaza's roughly two million residents, NPR reported. Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 48,300 people have been killed in the territory since the war began with the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Update (March 18, 2025): Three days after this report, Israel launched waves of airstrikes across Gaza, effectively ending the ceasefire. Netanyahu's office cited Hamas's refusal to release hostages and its rejection of U.S. proposals, and the Hamas-run Health Ministry reported more than 400 people killed, according to the BBC.