Intro:
At least nine Palestinians died in fresh Israeli airstrikes across Gaza Sunday.
Jerusalem
At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Palestinian civil defence and health officials. The strikes come amid renewed tensions, with Israel’s military stating that the action was taken in response to what it described as ceasefire violations by Hamas.
Medical sources on the ground reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza, killing at least four people. The camp was reportedly housing civilians who had fled earlier rounds of fighting. In a separate incident in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, health officials confirmed that five more people were killed in another strike.
The Israeli military defended the operations, saying they were launched after what it termed a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement by Hamas in the Beit Hanoun area. An Israeli military official stated that militants had emerged from a tunnel east of the designated Yellow Line, an area demarcated under the October ceasefire agreement to separate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled zones.
According to the official, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out what were described as precise strikes that complied with international law. The military further alleged that Hamas had committed more than six violations of the ceasefire since it came into effect in October. These violations reportedly included deploying armed fighters east of the Yellow Line.
Crossing the yellow line in the vicinity of IDF troops, while armed, is an explicit ceasefire violation, the official said, adding that such actions demonstrate a systematic attempt to harm Israeli troops.
The developments mark another escalation in the fragile truce, raising concerns about the durability of the ceasefire and the safety of civilians in the conflict-hit Gaza Strip.