'I believed nothing would harm my children any more'

Despite US-brokered ceasefire, death toll remains high from military strikes that show Israel can still kill with impunity

- Seham Tantesh GAZA Julian Borger and Emma Graham-Harrison JERUSALEM

When Jumaa and Fadi Abu Assi went to look for firewood their parents thought they would be safe. The brothers were aged nine and 10 and, after all, a ceasefire had been declared in Gaza. Their mother, Hala Abu Assi, was making tea in the family's tent in Khan Younis when she heard an explosion, a missile fired by an Israeli drone. She ran to the scene - but it was too late.

Since the US-brokered ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians in Gaza; according to a UN official, at least 70 are children like Jumaa and Fadi. They were killed, their mother said, at "a time when bloodshed was supposed to stop".

"After the ceasefire was announced, I felt a bit of safety and believed that nothing would harm my children any more," Abu Assi said.

The toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza has fallen significantly compared with the preceding two years of war, when on average 90 Palestinians were killed each day, but significant numbers of civilians are still losing their lives.

On average, Israeli weapons now kill seven people a day. That rate of violent death would be considered an active conflict in many other contexts, raising questions about how accurately "ceasefire" describes the new status quo.