Ramzi Mahmud
February 20, 2026•Update: February 20, 2026
GAZA CITY, Palestine
The Israeli army launched airstrikes, and artillery shelling in multiple areas in the Gaza Strip on Friday on the third day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the latest violation of the Oct. 10 ceasefire agreement, witnesses said.
Israeli fighter jets carried out two strikes inside the “Yellow Line” area east of the Shujaiya and al-Tuffah neighborhoods in eastern Gaza City, witnesses said.
The strikes coincided with heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles toward homes and tents sheltering displaced people in the Zeitoun neighborhood southeast of the city, along with intermittent artillery shelling, they added.
In central Gaza, the Israeli army carried out large-scale demolitions of buildings and facilities inside the “Yellow Line” east of the Bureij refugee camp, hours after intense gunfire and bulldozing operations near the Abu Ataya roundabout in the area, according to witnesses.
The “Yellow Line” is a temporary demarcation line established under the ceasefire agreement. It separates areas of Israeli military deployment, which account for about 53% of Gaza’s territory in the east, from western areas where Palestinians are allowed to move.
Heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles also targeted eastern areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, witnesses said.
The targets of the strikes were not immediately known, and it was unclear whether the attacks caused casualties among Palestinians.
Palestinians in Gaza are observing Ramadan this year amid widespread destruction following a two-year Israeli military campaign, which left infrastructure devastated and living conditions severely strained despite the ceasefire.
More than 72,000 people have been killed and over 171,000 others injured in the Israeli war, which caused damage to 90% of civilian infrastructure, according to Palestinian sources.
*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul
