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At least 25 Palestinians were killed in four Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in a part of Gaza under Hamas control since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities said.
The Israeli military said its forces struck Hamas targets across Gaza after members of the Palestinian militant group fired on its troops in violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire. No Israeli forces were injured.
In response to recent Israeli airstrikes, Hamas has issued a strong condemnation, labeling the actions as a perilous escalation. They have called upon the United States to uphold its pledged commitments by applying immediate pressure on Israel to adhere to the ceasefire and cease its military activities.
Medics said 10 people were killed in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun, two in the Shejaia suburb to the east, and the rest in two separate attacks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Repeated shooting incidents have pointed to the fragility of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas have traded blame for what both call violations of the US-brokered truce, the first stage of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for a post-war Gaza.
All four attacks were far beyond an agreed-upon imaginary “yellow line” separating the areas under Israeli and Palestinian control, according to medics, witnesses and Palestinian media.
The strikes included an attack in the Zeitoun area on a building owned by Muslim religious authorities, and another in Khan Younis targeting a UN-operated club. Both locations were serving as shelters for families who have been displaced.
The 10 October ceasefire in the two-year Gaza war has eased the conflict, enabling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza’s ruins. Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased.
But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 305 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, nearly half of them in one day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops.
Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and it has targeted scores of fighters.
