Three-year-old girl killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, local sources say

A three-year-old girl was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Sunday, according to local sources inside the Palestinian territory.

Ahed Tareq Al-Bayouk was reportedly playing near her family's tent in Mawasi, Rafah, southern Gaza, when she was shot.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it was "not aware of a strike" but would "conduct an additional review" as more information was provided.

Since a ceasefire came into effect in October, at least 370 people have been killed in Gaza including 140 children, according to Amnesty International. The BBC is prevented by Israel from reporting independently from inside Gaza.

Ahed Al-Bayouk's death appears to have taken place on the Palestinian side of the so-called Yellow Line, behind which Israeli troops agreed to withdraw as part of the first phase of a US plan to end fighting in the region.

Phase one also required the return of all 20 living and 28 dead hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

All have been returned except for the remains of an Israeli police officer, Ran Gvili, 24, who is believed to have been shot and killed while trying to repel the attack in which about 1200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Since then, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

The World Health Organization says at least 16,500 wounded or seriously ill Palestinians are in urgent need of evacuation for lifesaving medical treatment outside Gaza.

On Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, said the current situation was more of a "pause" than a ceasefire and his country was working with the US, Turkey and Egypt to push the plan towards phase two.

This would involve the establishment of an interim governing authority in Gaza, the deployment of an international security force, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israel's eventual withdrawal from the territory.

The plan is to be overseen by a Board of Peace chaired by US President Donald Trump.

It also sets out how redevelopment and reform might create "a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood".

On Sunday, after talks in Jerusalem with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the eventual creation of a Palestinian state could be the best route to "a new Middle East".

But standing alongside him, Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to the two-state solution.

The "purpose of a Palestinian state," he argued, "is to destroy the one and only Jewish state".

"We believe there is a path to advance a broader peace with the Arab states, and a path also to establish a workable peace with our Palestinian neighbours, but we're not going to create a state that will be committed to our destruction," he added.

The Israeli and German leaders did agree that the second phase of the American plan should be advanced as soon as Mr Gvili's remains were returned.

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