Palestinian brothers Fadi and Jomaa Tamer Abu Assi, aged 8 and 11, were killed by an Israeli drone strike on Thursday morning near the so-called “yellow line”, an unmarked Israeli-made boundary near their home in the northern Gaza Strip.

The strike targeted the children as they attempted to return to their house, located within a so-called “red zone,” only a short distance from where they had been standing. The arbitrary “yellow line” cited by the Israeli military does not physically exist on the ground and is incomprehensible to civilians, particularly children, who continue to suffer the consequences of its enforcement.

صباح اليوم ، قتلت إسرائيل هذين الطفلين الشقيقين، البالغين من العمر 8 أعوام و11 عامًا، بواسطة مسيّرة إسرائيلية، فقط لأنهما تجاوزا ما يُسمّى بـ”الخط الأصفر” الذي لا وجود له على أرض الواقع. خطّ لن يفهم طفلان معناه، ولا لماذا قد يمنعهما من العودة إلى منزلهما الواقع داخل تلك المنطقة… pic.twitter.com/FrsZkYIvrq

— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) November 29, 2025

According to local sources, the two brothers had briefly crossed the area either to check on their home, to retrieve warm clothing ahead of the approaching winter, or simply out of longing to revisit the place that once sheltered them.

The Israeli occupation forces later justified the crime by labeling the children as “terrorists” and claiming they posed a threat to their soldiers, a narrative routinely used in official statements following the killing of innocent Palestinians attempting to access their homes or neighborhoods.

The crime adds to the mounting toll of child victims in Gaza amid ongoing military aggression, and underscores growing concerns over the broad and lethal use of terms such as “threat” or “suspicious movement” to justify deadly force against civilians, particularly children.

9,300 Gaza children face severe malnutrition

As Gaza's most vulnerable and innocent continue bearing the brunt of "Israel's" bloodthirsty aggression, UNICEF has issued a fresh warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Gaza’s children, reporting that close to 9,300 boys and girls under the age of five were found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition in October.

The alert comes as Gaza faces overlapping emergencies, with winter storms flooding displacement camps and washing sewage into living areas, deepening the risks for already malnourished children.

In a statement posted on its website, the agency said “high levels of malnutrition continue to endanger the lives and well-being of children in the Gaza Strip, compounded by the onset of winter weather accelerating the spread of disease and increasing the risk of death among the most vulnerable children.”

High levels of malnutrition continue to endanger children’s lives in the Gaza Strip.

The onset of winter weather is accelerating the spread of disease and increasing the risk of death among the most vulnerable children.

Learn more: https://t.co/x2qe8X56Ll pic.twitter.com/WNwat5BvrB

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) November 28, 2025