Jerusalem, Palestine – Palestinian health officials said five people were killed on Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
This incident is the latest wave of violence undermining a four-month-old US-brokered ceasefire.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike targeted two people riding an electric bicycle in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, killing them instantly.
They added that later in the day, an Israeli drone strike killed a woman in the same city.
A man was also killed by Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medics also reported that another man was killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. This brings the death toll to five in just a few hours.
Launch targeted attacks
This comes a day after the Israeli military announced that its forces killed four militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after they emerged from an underground tunnel and opened fire on soldiers.
The Israeli military stated that it launched attacks targeting what it described as militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas,
in response to the Rafah incident. However, it did not directly comment on the casualties reported today.
In Gaza City, dozens of Palestinians gathered to mourn three people killed last night in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential building.
One of the bodies was wrapped in a Hamas flag, while another had a green band placed on its forehead.
Witnesses said this indicated that two of the dead men were affiliated with the movement.
Reuters, however, said it was unable to independently verify the identities of the victims.
Israeli statistics
For weeks, Israel and Hamas have been exchanging accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement,
a cornerstone of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
The next phase of the plan includes the disarmament of Hamas,
an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
Hamas rejects these proposals, while Israel maintains its readiness to resume full-scale war.
The Gaza Health Ministry stated that at least 580 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire agreement was signed last October,
while Israel reported the deaths of four of its soldiers during the same period.
The war erupted following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2013,
which, according to Israeli figures, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people.
Palestinian Health Ministry data indicates that the total death toll in the Gaza war has exceeded 72,000.
