A 13-year-old boy was killed in northern Gaza on Thursday (21 May) after an Israeli drone strike hit the town of Beit Lahiya, according to local health officials, as residents reported a renewed increase in Israeli evacuation warnings ahead of attacks.
Medics said several other people were wounded when a drone dropped a grenade in the area. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.
The strike comes months after an October ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump failed to fully end hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Indirect negotiations between the two sides remain stalled over demands for Hamas to disarm.
People across Gaza say Israeli forces have recently resumed issuing warnings telling civilians to flee buildings and neighbourhoods before strikes - a pattern that had largely eased following the ceasefire agreement.
Witnesses described at least three evacuation warnings over the past two days involving homes and a tent encampment sheltering displaced families.
On Tuesday (19 May), residents in the crowded Mawasi area of Khan Younis said Israeli forces ordered people to leave an encampment before a strike targeted one of the tents. Witnesses also reported a similar warning before a house was bombed in the Bureij refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Ibrahim Ismail, 60, said Israeli forces contacted residents late on Wednesday night and ordered families to evacuate their four-storey building in central Gaza before it was struck.
Nearby homes were also damaged, while two people were reportedly injured.
By Thursday morning, residents had returned to damaged neighbourhoods to search through debris for belongings and clothing. Others used bulldozers to clear roads blocked by rubble from destroyed buildings.
“Look. You work for 30 years and, in five minutes, everything is gone,” Ismail said.
“Don't speak of a ceasefire or truce - it's all lies. War is war.”
Israel’s military has previously said evacuation warnings are intended to reduce civilian casualties before strikes targeting militant groups. It has not publicly explained why the warnings appear to have increased again in recent days.
Despite the ceasefire remaining technically in place, violence has continued across the Strip.
According to Gaza health officials, around 880 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period.
Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza, while Hamas retains control over a narrow coastal area. Hamas has not released figures detailing how many of those killed were members of its armed wing.
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