A pregnant Palestinian woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza, joining at least 10 people dead in 48 hours of strikes. The ongoing violence persists despite a fragile ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025, leaving hospitals struggling with power shortages as the region approaches the rainy season.
Iman Shalouf, a 27-year-old woman nearly eight months pregnant, was sitting inside her family’s tent in the al-Mawasi area south of Khan Younis when Israeli gunfire struck her, according to paramedics and witnesses. Her mother-in-law, Wathfa abu Mashi, recounted hearing the sound of gunfire while praying before discovering Shalouf covered in blood.
“Where is the ceasefire they keep talking about? There is no such thing. There is killing every day. People are dying here every day.”
Ismail abu Mashi, via The Guardian
Shalouf was rushed to Nasser hospital, where medical staff initially detected a heartbeat from her unborn child. Both Shalouf and the baby, whom relatives had named Ayoub in anticipation of a November due date, died a few hours later. Relatives and community members held funeral prayers at the hospital before burying them side by side in Khan Younis. Contacted by the Guardian, the Israel Defense Forces stated they were looking into the incident.
Escalating Casualties Across Gaza Amid Fragile Truce
The weekend violence forms part of a broader wave of near-daily attacks across the war-ravaged territory. According to the health ministry in Gaza, 10 Palestinians had been killed and 56 wounded in Israeli attacks over the previous 48 hours, amid artillery shelling and gunfire in several areas of northern, central and southern Gaza. These casualties push the death toll to 1,369 Palestinians killed and 4,627 wounded since a fragile ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025.
Among other casualties reported by the ministry, four members of the same family—Momen Ahmed, his wife, Haneen Saleh, and their daughters Lana, 12, and Bana, eight—were killed when their home in Beit Lahiya was struck on Thursday night. Separately, an Israeli strike on Sunday in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least two people and wounded 13, according to medics and health officials. The attack on the vehicle also injured people on a passing bus carrying women and children, and health officials reported that the strike had dismembered the bodies of the deceased, appealing to the public for information that could help identify them.
Footage circulating on social media and verified by Al Jazeera showed the targeted vehicle mangled and gutted, its roof and doors torn away. The Israeli military said it had targeted two Hamas fighters.
Humanitarian Strain and Infrastructure Collapse
Beyond the direct toll of airstrikes and gunfire, basic infrastructure continues to disintegrate. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday that several hospital generators have stopped working in recent days because of shortages of oil, fuel and spare parts. Officials said the limited oil Israel has allowed into Gaza covers only emergency needs and falls far short of the 2,500 litres (660 gallons) hospitals require each month. On 31 August, a temporary halt to desalination in Israel also reduced the water available to about a million people in Gaza who rely on the Israeli grid.
Aid organizations warn that conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Médecins Sans Frontières said that between September 6 and 9, Israeli forces issued 18 so-called evacuation orders and struck a building less than 250ft from an MSF clinic, while airstrikes by Israeli forces continue killing and wounding Palestinians. Meanwhile, according to the UN’s humanitarian office, most of Gaza’s 2.1 million are approaching the rainy season in overcrowded displacement sites, at risk of flooding and disease, while efforts to help them prepare are constrained by funding shortfalls and access restrictions.
Political Repercussions and International Reactions
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and obstructing US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war against Palestinians in Gaza, which includes an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave and the disarmament of Hamas. During a visit to Ireland on Saturday, Trump defended his administration’s record on Gaza during a news conference.
“We put out the fire, and we got all the hostages back. There’s very little happening right now in Gaza.”
Donald Trump, via Al Jazeera
Trump added that there are a lot of good relationships taking place right now, describing it as quite amazing and stating that he thinks they have done a great job. Local authorities report that Israel’s war has killed at least 73,669 people—or 73,783 Palestinians according to health ministry figures tracking the broader conflict since October 2023—mostly women and children.
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