Gaza three-year-old girl killed by Israeli troops, local sources say

A three-year-old girl was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Sunday, local sources in the Palestinian territories said.

Ahed Tareq Al-Bayouk was reportedly playing near the tent of Rafa Mawasi’s home in southern Gaza when he was shot dead.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had “no knowledge of an attack” but that “additional review” would be conducted as more information becomes available.

According to Amnesty International, at least 370 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect in October, including 140 children. Israel blocks independent BBC reporting from inside Gaza.

Ahed Bayuk’s death appears to have occurred on the Palestinian side of the so-called Yellow Line, where Israeli forces have agreed to withdraw as part of the first phase of a U.S. plan to end fighting in the area.

The first phase also calls for the return of all 20 hostages and 28 hostages taken during the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

All have been returned except the body of 24-year-old Israeli police officer Ran Gvili. He is believed to have been shot while trying to fight off the attack, which left some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.

Since then, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli military operations, according to the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.

The World Health Organization says at least 16,500 injured or seriously ill Palestinians urgently need to be evacuated outside Gaza to receive life-saving medical care.

On Saturday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the current situation was more of a “pause” than a ceasefire and that Qatar was working with the United States, Turkey and Egypt to move the plan to a second phase.

This would involve the establishment of an interim administration in Gaza, the deployment of international security forces, the disarmament of Hamas and the eventual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.

The plan will be overseen by a peace commission chaired by US President Donald Trump.

It also sets out how reconstruction and reform can create “a credible path to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

An eventual Palestinian state may be the best path to a “new Middle East,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

But Netanyahu stood by his side and reiterated his opposition to a two-state solution.

He believes that “the purpose of the Palestinian state is to destroy the only Jewish state.”

He added: “We believe there is a path to a broader peace with Arab countries and a path to a viable peace with our Palestinian neighbors, but we will not create a state dedicated to our destruction.”

The leaders of Israel and Germany did agree that the second phase of the U.S. plan should move forward once Mr. Gweli’s remains are returned.

Netanyahu is expected to discuss the next phase of the plan when he meets Trump in the United States on December 29.