11 Of Gaza Family Returning Home Killed After Their Bus Hit By Israel: Hamas

Last Updated:October 19, 2025, 00:15 IST

Eleven people of a family were killed by an Israeli tank shell in Zeitoun, Gaza City, as they tried to inspect their home, amid ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations.

The Israeli military said a "suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip" on Friday, prompting it to fire "warning shots" towards the vehicle.(Reuters/Representative Image)

Eleven people, from the same family, were killed after their bus was hit by an Israeli tank shell in northern Gaza, Hamas-run civil defence said on Saturday.

AFP quoted civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal as saying that the victims were members of the Abu Shaaban family and were killed while “trying to check on their home" in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday night. Those killed included women and children.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said a “suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip" on Friday, prompting it to fire “warning shots" towards the vehicle.

It said the vehicle “continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them" and “troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement."

They have warned Palestinians from entering areas in Gaza that are still under its control.

According to BBC, many Palestinians do not know the position of Israeli troops as the yellow demarcation line is not physically marked, and it is unclear if the area where the bus was travelling did cross it.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday the army would set up visual signs to indicate the location of the line.

However, Hamas said that the family was targeted without justification.

Israel on Friday received the remains of another hostage from Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office said, following a handover by Hamas. The militant group has been using bulldozers to recover bodies from the rubble in the war-torn enclave as part of efforts to uphold the ceasefire.

The transfer of hostages’ remains, mandated under the ceasefire agreement, has been a major point of contention, alongside aid deliveries, the reopening of Gaza’s border crossings, and reconstruction plans, all part of an internationally supported effort to end two years of devastating conflict in the region.

While much focus has been on the handover of hostages’ remains, Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, expedite the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and start reconstruction.

It has also said work should ‘start immediately’ to set up a committee of Palestinian independents who will run Gaza and called for Israeli troops to continue pulling back from agreed-upon areas.

News world 11 Of Gaza Family Returning Home Killed After Their Bus Hit By Israel: Hamas

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