The Israeli military said on Wednesday it struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip, a little over a month after a shaky US-brokered truce came into effect.
It accused Hamas militants of a ceasefire violation, saying they had opened fire at an area where Israeli troops were operating in the south of the enclave.
The AFP news agency cited Gaza’s civil defense agency as saying that 22 people were killed in the strikes.
Twelve fatalities were reported in northern areas near Gaza City, which was the Palestinian territory’s largest urban center before the war began in October 2023 following Hamas’ attack in Israel, and 10 fatalities in the city of Khan Younis in the south.
This was up from a previously reported death toll of 11.
Meanwhile, Germany’s DPA news agency cited health authorities as saying that 25 people had been killed in total.
‘Yellow line’ established in Israel-Hamas ceasefire
A ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group came into effect on October 10.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Israeli military is to withdraw beyond a point referred to as the “yellow line” until the deployment of an international “stabilization force,” after which Israel would withdraw further.
The Israeli military said that the Wednesday ceasefire violation, which it attributed to Hamas, occurred beyond the yellow line.
Reuters cited medics, witnesses and Palestinian media as saying that the Israeli strikes occurred deep within areas Israeli forces were to withdraw from under the truce.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council voted to support a US-backed peace plan to end the war in Gaza.
Hamas rejected the plan, saying it did not meet Palestinians’ rights and demands and instead sought to impose international trusteeship over the territory.
Several points of the plan remain disputed, including the disarmament of Hamas and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
