Two Palestinians killed in Gaza

Palestinians inspect a building hit by an Israeli strike on Friday, in Gaza City, February 6, 2026. (REUTERS)
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Updated 06 February 2026
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Two Palestinians killed in Gaza

  • Israeli occupation forces also targeted Khan Younis and Rafah during a series of attacks

GAZA: Two Palestinians were killed in Beit Lahia and Jabalia in northern Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday in breach of the ceasefire agreement, according to local sources.

A woman was also injured in gunfire east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.

The Israeli army also carried out several coordinated attacks in the early hours of Friday, targeting residential buildings across several areas of the Gaza Strip as part of its policy of destroying urban blocks.

A WAFA correspondent reported that forces demolished residential buildings northeast of Gaza City and conducted additional attacks on buildings in northern Gaza.

In Khan Younis, the army attacked the southeast of the city, while eastern and southern areas of the province came under heavy artillery fire.

In Rafah, Israeli warplanes fired heavily on the city alongside shelling from military vehicles stationed there, while on Thursday night, airstrikes hit the home of the Abu Hatab family in Khan Younis refugee camp.

Meanwhile, the UN said ending the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip required the unrestricted opening of all crossings for aid delivery. It also warned that opening the Rafah crossing to individuals only, without humanitarian assistance, did not alter the deteriorating situation on the ground.

UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said humanitarian supplies destined for Gaza remain stuck in Egypt and Jordan, adding Israel had blocked their entry since March 2025.

He stressed that allowing people to pass alone, while preventing aid deliveries, did nothing to alleviate the severe humanitarian conditions and added the continued obstruction of relief supplies was among the main reasons for ongoing suffering in Gaza.

He said that the humanitarian situation saw a very limited improvement during summer 2025 compared with the peak of the crisis but the slight increase in aid and commercial goods far from compensated
for the massive destruction caused by “a man-made humanitarian disaster.”

Fowler added children continued to suffer from hunger, medical supplies remained insufficient to meet overwhelming needs, and disease outbreaks persisted amid the collapse of water and sewage systems and an acute shortage of shelter materials.

At least 600 aid trucks per day were needed to sustain the population, he added, warning that any fewer effectively meant the crisis would continue, particularly given restrictions on the type of aid allowed in and the limited operating hours at crossings.

Fowler also said the continued ban on UNRWA’s work following the ceasefire reflected a political choice targeting the largest humanitarian organization operating in Gaza, despite the agency’s readiness, long-standing experience and extensive operational capacity.

He warned that restrictions imposed on civil society organizations were aimed at confining humanitarian work to selected actors willing to overlook violations and stressed that adherence to humanitarian principles and respect for international humanitarian law, must remain non-negotiable.

 


Iran releases on bail two reformists arrested after protests: local media

Updated 58 min 36 sec ago
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Iran releases on bail two reformists arrested after protests: local media

  • Reformists traditionally call for more social freedoms and the establishment of a civil society

TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have released on bail two senior reformist figures who were arrested in recent days following anti-government protests in January, local media reported.
“Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh were released a few minutes ago after posting bail,” their lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, said in an interview with the ISNA news agency published on Thursday evening.
Asgharzadeh is a former member of parliament and Emam is the spokesman of the Reformist Front, the main coalition of the reformist camp.
They were accused of “undermining national unity” and “coordinating with enemy propaganda,” the Fars news agency reported at the time of their arrests.
Reformists traditionally call for more social freedoms and the establishment of a civil society and backed current president Masoud Pezeshkian during his 2024 campaign.
The lawyer expressed hope that the release of Azar Mansouri, head of the Reform Front since 2023 could come “in the next few days when her arrest warrant is revoked.”
Mansouri, 60, an adviser to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, was arrested on Sunday alongside two other reformists.
The arrests come weeks after deadly protests erupted across the country, in which thousands of people died and many more were more arrested.
In 2009, Emam was one of the campaign managers for Mir Hossein Mousavi, a leading figure in the Iranian opposition and former prime minister, who has been under house arrest since 2011.