KHAN YOUNIS: A 15-year-old Palestinian child was killed by Israeli army gunfire on Friday in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources said that Mohammed Nidal Barbakh was shot by Israeli forces in the Bir 19 area of Al-Mawasi and later succumbed to his injuries.

The child’s killing comes as the death toll from Israel’s ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 74,618 Palestinians, with 175,925 others injured, according to health authorities.

At least 1,602 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, 2025, while 5,799 others have been injured.

Many victims remain trapped under collapsed buildings or in areas inaccessible to ambulance and rescue teams.

Israeli strikes and gunfire on Thursday killed five people across Gaza, including a woman and a 12-year-old boy, rescue services said.

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense agency, said that a 12-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

Also on Friday, a medical source in the Gaza Strip said that 260 cases of congenital anomalies were recorded among newborns during the first nine months of 2026, exceeding the total of 184 cases reported throughout 2022.

The source said 322 cases were recorded in 2025, representing a 75 percent increase compared with 2022. However, the figures alone do not establish the rate of congenital anomalies among newborns or determine their causes.

The medical source called for an independent international scientific investigation into the possible causes of the increase, including maternal malnutrition, exposure to environmental pollutants, and disruptions to prenatal healthcare amid Israel’s war on Gaza.

The reported congenital conditions include cleft lip and palate, shortened upper limbs, and umbilical hernias.

The source noted that a single child may have more than one congenital anomaly.

A Human Rights Watch report published on Jan. 28, 2025, documented serious health and humanitarian risks facing pregnant women in Gaza as a result of the war, the blockade, the destruction of healthcare facilities, and shortages of food, water, and medicine.

The deterioration of maternal healthcare services has increased the risks of complications, including hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and infections. Shortages of incubators and medical supplies have also threatened the lives of mothers, fetuses, and newborns.