August 2024 Deir al-Balah attacks

On 17 August 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of military strikes on az-Zawayda in the Deir al-Balah Governorate and on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The attacks killed at least 34 people, including a family of fifteen. The strikes occurred shortly after the conclusion of a round of ceasefire negotiations held in Doha, Qatar, between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States.

In the lead-up to the attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden stated he was "optimistic" about progress toward bridging gaps in ceasefire demands. Israeli officials, by contrast, said they were attempting to "lower expectations" of a deal, citing significant gaps between the two sides. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were multiple "red lines" he would not negotiate or compromise on. A senior Hamas official described Biden's optimism as "an illusion," saying the parties were "not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats."

An IDF air raid struck a family home and an adjacent warehouse being used as a shelter for displaced people near the entrance to az-Zawayda. An eyewitness, identified as Ahmed Abu al-Ghoul, reported that three rockets struck the structures directly. The strike killed fifteen members of the family of Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, described as a seller of goods to retailers who worked with Israeli forces to help distribute food aid across Gaza during the humanitarian crisis. The bodies were taken to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital, where a list compiled by hospital staff recorded that those killed at the home included Sami al-Ejlah, his two wives, eleven of their children (aged two to twenty-two), and the children's grandmother.

Separately, a family in the Nuseirat refugee camp was struck when Israeli Navy boats fired on a residential tower, killing at least seven members. The IDF also shelled a home in the al-Hakr area, killing or wounding several people.

In response, the IDF stated that it had targeted "terrorist infrastructure" in Deir al-Balah following the launching of rockets from the area.