Palestinians mourn as the bodies of those killed are taken from the morgue of Al-Awda Hospital for burial after an Israeli strike targeted civilians gathered outside the Al-Awda Hospital for other Palestinians’ funeral, in Jabalia, Gaza, Palestine on July 17, 2026. [Adam Bilal – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli drone strike on funeral gathering in central Gaza kills 8, injures 20
At least eight Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured Friday when an Israeli drone struck a civilian gathering during the funeral of a Palestinian who had been killed earlier by Israeli forces in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, despite a ceasefire, Anadolu reports.
The strike raised the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn Friday to 13 and to 25 over the past 72 hours, according to Gaza authorities.
Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp said in a statement that it received the bodies of eight people and treated 20 injured after an Israeli strike targeted a gathering of civilians in the Al-Balata market area.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the drone targeted Palestinians gathered outside the Ahmad Yassin Mosque as they waited to begin the funeral procession.
The funeral was for a Palestinian who had been killed by Israeli forces earlier Friday, the witnesses said.
Videos circulating on social media showed several bodies and wounded people lying on the ground, with blood covering their clothes and bodies.
Commenting on the attack, the Gaza Media Office said the Israeli army had killed more than 25 Palestinians over the past 72 hours in attacks targeting markets, funerals, civilian gatherings and residential homes.
In a statement, the office said it was “following with grave concern the systematic criminal escalation carried out by the Israeli occupation army against unarmed civilians in Gaza, in blatant defiance of all agreements, conventions, customs and international humanitarian law.”
It added that “the killings and the war of genocide continue at an escalating pace, carried out through a policy of bombing popular markets, funerals, peaceful civilian gatherings and safe residential apartments over the heads of their inhabitants.”
The office said the attacks “constitute a clear entrenchment of a policy of terrorism directed against every living being in the Gaza Strip.”
The attack came as Israel continued to violate the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since Oct. 10, 2025.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli ceasefire violations had killed 1,127 Palestinians and injured 3,643 others as of Thursday.
The ministry says Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 173,000, while causing widespread destruction to about 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
Massacre in Nuseirat: Israel Targets Funeral Procession, Killing Eight, Wounding 20
July 17, 2026 PC News By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Eight Palestinians were killed and twenty wounded after an Israeli drone struck mourners gathered for a funeral in central Gaza.
Key Developments
- Israeli drone strike killed eight Palestinians attending a funeral in Nuseirat.
- Twenty others were wounded in the attack near Ahmad Yassin Mosque.
- The funeral was being held for a Palestinian killed earlier the same day by Israeli forces.
- 25 Palestinians have been killed over the past 72 hours in attacks targeting markets, funerals, homes and civilian gatherings.
An Israeli drone strike killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded twenty others on Friday after targeting mourners gathered for a funeral in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, in one of the latest attacks on civilian gatherings despite the ceasefire.
The victims had assembled outside Ahmad Yassin Mosque near Al-Balata market to accompany the funeral procession of a Palestinian who had been killed by Israeli forces earlier the same day.
Funeral Targeted
According to Al-Awda Hospital, eight bodies and twenty injured people were brought to the medical facility following the strike.
Eyewitnesses said the drone attacked civilians waiting outside the mosque moments before the funeral procession began.
Images circulating from the scene showed bodies lying on the ground alongside wounded mourners as rescuers rushed casualties to hospital.
Death Toll Climbs
The attack raised the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn Friday to at least thirteen, according to Gaza authorities.
The Gaza Government Media Office said more than twenty-five Palestinians have been killed over the past seventy-two hours in Israeli attacks targeting markets, funerals, civilian gatherings and residential homes.
In a statement, the office said Israel was carrying out “the killings and the war of genocide” through attacks on “popular markets, funerals, peaceful civilian gatherings and safe residential apartments.”
It described the attacks as “a clear entrenchment of a policy of terrorism directed against every living being in the Gaza Strip.”
Continuing Ceasefire Violations
The strike comes amid continuing Israeli violations of the ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, 2025.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks since the ceasefire have killed 1,127 Palestinians and wounded 3,643.
Since the beginning of Israel’s genocide in October 2023, the ministry says at least 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 173,000 wounded, while approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
(Anadolu, QNN, WAFA, PC)
