Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 27 people, as Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas once again trade accusations of violating the fragile ceasefire that came into force on 10 October.
“Bombardments and deaths have started again. They do not let us breathe for a moment,” said 50 year old Ashraf Abu Sultan, speaking to AFP after returning to Gaza City to rebuild his home, having been displaced to the south of the enclave for more than a year.
According to Palestinian sources, fourteen people were killed in Gaza City and another thirteen in the Khan Younis area. Two hospitals contacted by AFP confirmed the toll.
Israeli military response and hamas reaction
The Israeli army said it had “struck Hamas terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip” in response to “fire directed towards the area where our forces were operating in Khan Younis.”
The army added that the fire caused no injuries but constituted “a violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Rejecting what it called a “pathetic attempt to justify the constant violations” of the truce by Israel, Hamas condemned a “dangerous escalation” and urged the United States to “apply immediate and serious pressure” to force Israel “to respect the ceasefire.”
Since 10 October, more than three hundred Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes or gunfire, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. The Israeli army says its actions are limited to responses to violations by the other side.
The deadliest Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began were recorded on 29 October, when more than 100 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the civil defence and data provided to AFP by five hospitals.
Palestinian sources said parents and their three children were killed in Gaza City, while two more children were found dead in Khan Younis.
Second phase of ceasefire in doubt
In its first phase, the ceasefire agreement allowed for the repatriation of the last twenty surviving hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the return of the remains of 25 dead hostages out of the 28 that Hamas had committed to hand over.
Israel is demanding the return of the final three dead hostages and accuses Hamas of deliberately stalling, while the movement says locating them is difficult in an enclave buried under tonnes of rubble.
The second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan has not yet been activated. It envisages the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, the formation of a transitional body to govern the Gaza Strip, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution endorsing the Trump plan. Hamas, which is excluded a priori from any role in governing Gaza and refuses to disarm under Israeli terms, denounced the text as one that “does not meet the aspirations and the political and human rights” of the Palestinian people.
Casualties since October 7, 2023
In the 7 October 2023 assault, 1,221 people were killed on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Since then, at least 69,500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli military operations, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable. The ministry says more than half of the victims were women and children.
Source: AFP