Israel kills at least three Palestinians in latest breach of Gaza ceasefire

Israeli military says it fired at ‘terrorist’ who crossed into area under their control in northern ⁠Gaza Strip

A child walks past garbage towards tent shelters housing displaced Palestinian families in Gaza City on January 11th. Photograph: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty
A child walks past garbage towards tent shelters housing displaced Palestinian families in Gaza City on January 11th. Photograph: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate ‍incidents across the Gaza Strip, local health authorities said, as tension rises over ‍continued violence since an October ceasefire.

Medics said one Palestinian was killed in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, in an area ‌under Palestinian control, while two others were killed in southern Gaza ⁠in the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan ‌Younis, ​an ‍area Israel still occupies.

The Israeli military said forces fired at a “terrorist” who crossed into the area under their control in the northern ⁠Gaza Strip, posing an immediate threat. A hit was ⁠identified, it added.

There was no ⁠comment on the incident south of the enclave.

Fighting has largely abated since Israel ‍and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October, two years into the war, but it has not stopped entirely. Israel and Hamas have traded blame over the violations of the deal.

A Hamas official told Reuters on ‌Sunday that the ‌group urged mediators to intervene to stop “daily Israeli killings that aim to derail the ceasefire deal”.

More than ‌440 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Gaza health ⁠officials, have been killed since the truce, as well as three Israeli soldiers. – Reuters

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