Child injured in the attack in Deir el-Balah Photo: STRINGER / AFP / Profimedia
Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 20 people and wounded 80 others on Saturday, according to local health authorities. The attacks test the solidity of an already fragile truce between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel, writes Reuters.
Witnesses and medics say the first attack hit a car in the densely populated Rimal district. It is still unclear if the five dead were passengers in the car or if bystanders were among them. Dozens of people jumped in to put out the fire and save the victims.
Shortly after, the Israeli military aircraft hit two houses, one in the city of Deir Al-Balah, the other in the Nuseirat camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip. At least ten people died and others were injured.
Finally, another strike was directed at a house in western Gaza City, killing five more people, bringing the total number of casualties to at least 20.
The Israeli military said a gunman entered Israeli-controlled territory and used the “humanitarian corridor in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza”, which is “a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”. In response, several targets were hit.
Repeated ceasefire violations
A Hamas official dismissed the Israeli army's accusations as baseless and “an excuse to kill” and said the group was determined to abide by the ceasefire agreement.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the cease-fire signed six weeks ago. A Hamas statement said Israel's escalating violations put a responsibility on mediators and the United States to examine them and maintain the ceasefire.
And Israel asked mediators to insist that Hamas honor its commitments by returning the bodies of three dead hostages and disarming the group, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Following the October 10 ceasefire that ended two years of war in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were able to return to their homes, most of which were in ruins. Israel withdrew from the city and again the flow of humanitarian aid increased.
But the violence did not stop completely. Hamas has been trying to re-establish control in the area and there are fears of a de facto partition of the Strip.
Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 316 people in strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire ended. Israel has announced that three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire ended.
