At least 21 people have been killed after Israel launched air strikes across Gaza, in the latest test of the ceasefire with Hamas.
Both sides accused each other of breaches, with Israel saying an “armed terrorist” crossed the so-called Yellow Line marking Israeli-held territory and fired at soldiers. The military said it then “began striking terror targets” in Gaza.
Hamas said the “escalation” by Israel was an attempt to undermine the ceasefire.
“We call on the mediators to intervene urgently and exert pressure to stop these violations immediately,” the militant group said.
Official Palestinian news agency Wafa said 21 people were killed and others were wounded in the strikes. Saturday was one of the deadliest days since the US-brokered truce came into effect on October 10, after two years of war.
Wafa said strikes hit Gaza city, Deir Al Balah and the Nuseirat area. Nine bodies were sent to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, four to Al Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and eight to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah.
Among those deaths, Wafa said an air strike hit a vehicle in the Remal area on Gaza city, killing at least five people.
Four people were also killed and others injured when Israeli fighter jets bombed the Al Khudari family home in the Al Nasr neighbourhood west of Gaza city.
According to Gaza's health ministry, as of Thursday 312 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took hold.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire.
“Hamas violated the ceasefire again, sending a terrorist into Israel-held territory to attack soldiers,” it said on X. “In response, Israel eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists.”
“Israel has fully honoured the ceasefire, Hamas has not. We again call on the mediators to insist that Hamas fulfil its side.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the Israeli strikes.
It urged the international community to put “immediate pressure” on Israel in order to “stop the massacres”.
Gazan Jihad Abed Al Aziz, who was displaced to Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, told the AFP news agency that “a ceasefire is pointless”, saying aid was still lacking despite the decrease in fighting brought by the truce.
“The crossings do not bring in enough to give us food, supplies, or even the basics of life,” he said. “We have lost our jobs, our homes, and everything in our lives. Life itself has no meaning any more.”
