Israeli gunfire kills Palestinian girl inside Gaza classroom

Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian third-grade student inside her classroom in northern Gaza on Thursday, in a new violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Education Ministry said.

The ministry identified the girl as Ritaaj Rihan, saying she was sitting at her desk at Abu Ubaida bin al-Jarrah School when she was shot in front of her classmates.

The ministry said the incident caused severe psychological trauma among the students, describing the killing as a “brutal and horrific crime.”

“It was not an isolated incident, but a direct extension of a systematic policy targeting the Palestinian people,” the ministry said.

The ministry said Israel bears full responsibility for the killing and warned that continued international silence amounts to “complicity.”

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 738 Palestinians have been killed and 2,036 others injured in near-daily Israeli attacks in violation of the ceasefire in place since October 2025.

The ceasefire followed more than two years of a genocidal war that has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 172,000 and devastated about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.

*Writing by Lina Altawell