An Israeli strike on January 15 targeted a home west of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, killing five people, according to hospital sources. Hamas said Mahmoud al-Houli, an executive with the al-Qassam Brigades, was among the victims, denouncing a deliberate operation during a ceasefire. The next morning, local residents gathered in the destroyed building to inspect the damage, while bereaved families gathered at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for funeral ceremonies. Israel says the strike responded to truce failures blamed on Hamas and Islamic Jihad, amid heightened tensions. For its part, Hamas rejects this versionreferring to more than 400 Palestinian deaths in similar strikes since the agreement reached in October 2025, on the eve of its second phase.
