Israeli drone fire injures girl, 5, as Gaza comes under shelling

A five-year-old Palestinian girl was injured by Israeli drone fire in northeastern Gaza City on 28 October, the Palestinian Shehab News Agency reported.

The shooting was part of a series of reported Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip, including artillery bombardment, tank fire and naval gunfire in northern and southern areas.

Shehab said the child was wounded when an Israeli quadcopter drone opened fire in northeastern Gaza City. The agency did not provide details of her medical condition or identify her.

In the eastern Gaza City neighbourhood of Tuffah, quadcopter drones reportedly fired indiscriminately along Sahaba Street and Yaffa Street. Israeli military vehicles were also reported to have opened fire in the area.

The German news agency DPA, citing Shehab, reported that Israeli forces had positioned explosive-laden robots near the Sanafour junction, east of Tuffah.

The reported deployment took place alongside continued Israeli military movements and gunfire in the neighbourhood. The reports did not establish whether the devices had been detonated or caused casualties.

Israeli military activity was also reported farther south, around Khan Younis.

According to Shehab, Israeli artillery shelled eastern parts of the southern Gaza city, while tanks opened heavy fire towards its northeastern outskirts.

Drones were reported flying extensively over southern Gaza during the operations.

Off Gaza City's Mediterranean coastline, Israeli naval vessels also reportedly fired repeatedly towards the shore. The source did not identify any casualties resulting from the naval gunfire.

The reports described military activity across several separate locations but did not establish whether the incidents were connected or formed part of a single operation.

No Israeli military response to the specific allegations was included in the accounts cited by Asharq Al-Awsat.

The reported incidents followed an Israeli strike on a building at the Islamic University of Gaza on 25 October that killed three Palestinians, according to an AFP photograph caption published by Asharq Al-Awsat.

The latest accounts did not provide a comprehensive casualty figure for the military activity on 28 October beyond the reported injury of the five-year-old girl.