Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned what it called Israel’s violation of the Gaza ceasefire, after the Israeli military said it struck a car in the enclave that had entered a restricted area, killing 11 members of a Palestinian family.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops fired warning shots before hitting the vehicle when it continued to approach “in a threatening manner.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei called the incident a violation of the ceasefire with Hamas and urged governments that brokered the truce to ensure its enforcement.
Israel’s actions, including the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, he said, "represented serious breaches of international obligations."
Gaza officials said the victims, including seven children and three women, were members of the Abu Shaban family, who were returning to their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood on Friday when their vehicle was struck.
Hamas described the attack as a “deliberate crime against civilians." The Gaza Civil Defense agency said the bodies were later recovered with the UN's help.
The IDF said the car had crossed into the so-called Yellow Line — a buffer zone separating Israeli-held areas from the rest of Gaza — and refused to stop after warning shots.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country's military would install clearer physical markers along the boundary to prevent future incidents, warning that “any violation of the line will be met with fire.”
Baqaei urged the international community to act to stop what he called further civilian deaths and to secure access to food and humanitarian aid for Gaza’s population.
The ceasefire mediated in early October by the United States, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar put an end to over two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which started in response to Hamas's October 7 attack.
Gaza’s media office says Israel has breached the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since it took effect, leaving 38 Palestinians dead and 143 others injured.
