Israeli drone strike kills 2 cyclists in Gaza as death toll mounts despite ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians on bicycles Tuesday, hospital officials said, marking the latest deaths since an October ceasefire that hasn't halted deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said the two men were hit near the ceasefire line that divides Gaza, with one half under Israeli military control. They were hit in eastern Deir al-Balah, the hospital said, adding that it also received the body of a woman who was killed by Israeli gunfire in central Maghazi refugee camp.

Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about either strike. It has previously said its forces respond to ceasefire violations or attacks on its soldiers.

Gaza's Health Ministry on Tuesday said reported 586 Palestinians had been killed since the start of the ceasefire, bringing the cumulative toll to 72,037 killed since the start of Israel's offensive. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce since it took effect on Oct. 10. The escalating Palestinian toll has prompted many in Gaza to say it feels like the war has continued unabated.

Yet parts of the agreement outlined in last year’s ceasefire are moving forward. After a chaotic first week, officials say more Palestinians are entering and leaving Gaza for Egypt via the reopened Rafah crossing. Plans for an international peacekeeping force meant to provide security in Gaza are also beginning to take shape.

Indonesia — the world's most populous Muslim-majority country — said Tuesday that its military had begun training personnel to serve in Gaza, specifically for reconstruction and humanitarian response. Its army chief of staff said between 5,000 and 8,000 troops were preparing to deploy.

Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Indonesian troops would not take part in disarmament — one of the most contentious and unresolved elements of the peace plan.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto told the U.N. General Assembly in October that his country planned to contribute troops, even as details about the force’s role and mandate was unclear. The commitment came as Prabowo sought closer ties with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israel and Hamas remain divided over the timeline and scope of Israel’s withdrawal and the demilitarization of the enclave after nearly two decades of Hamas rule.

The temporary International Stabilization Force outlined last year in Trump’s 20-point peace plan — among the key components of the demilitarization effort— is envisioned as a later phase of the plan.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023. The 251 hostages taken in the attack were returned to Israel in various ceasefire agreements, with the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili — the final body in Gaza — were found and returned in January, paving the way for the advance of the ceasefire agreement. The war has sparked worldwide protests and brought allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Samy Magdy and Sam Metz contributed from Cairo and Ramallah, West Bank.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians mourn over the flag-draped body of a Hamas militant Ahmed Sweilem, killed in an Israeli army strike, during his funeral in Gaza City, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians carry the flag-draped bodies of two Hamas militants, Ahmed Sweilem, left, and Ibrahim Al-Za'anin, who were killed in an Israeli army strike, during their funeral in Gaza City, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn over the flag-draped body of a Hamas militant Ibrahim Al-Za'anin, killed in an Israeli army strike, during his funeral in Gaza City, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

An immigration court blocked the deportation of a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who was detained by immigration officials near her Massachusetts home, her attorneys said in court documents filed Monday.

Rümeysa Öztürk's attorneys said the immigration court found on Jan. 29 that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t proved that Öztürk should be removed from the U.S.

The immigration court also terminated Öztürk’s removal proceedings, the attorneys said in a letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been reviewing her case.

The department has the option to appeal the immigration court's decision, the notice from her attorneys said.

Öztürk is a PhD student studying children’s relationship to social media. She was arrested last March while walking down a street as the Trump administration began targeting foreign-born students and activists involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy. She had co-authored an op-ed criticizing her university’s response to Israel and the war in Gaza.

Video showed masked agents handcuffing her and putting her into an unmarked vehicle.

A petition to release her was first filed in federal court in Boston and then moved to Burlington, Vermont. Öztürk has been out of a Louisiana immigrant detention center since May and back on the Tufts campus outside Boston.

A federal judge said Öztürk raised serious concerns about her First Amendment and due process rights, as well as her health. The federal government appealed her release to the 2nd Circuit.

Öztürk's attorneys told the 2nd Circuit that the government may try to detain their client again if it appeals the immigration court's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately return an email message seeking comment.

Öztürk said it was heartening to know that some justice can prevail.

“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” she said in a statement released by her attorneys.

FILE - Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk reads from a prepared statement following a court hearing outside the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham, File)