At least four Palestinians were killed and several wounded in an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday, the official Wafa news agency reported. Another man died of wounds he sustained in an earlier attack on Al Mawasi area, Wafa said.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant who was planning to attack Israeli troops in southern Gaza, in an area controlled by Hamas. “The terrorist posed an imminent threat to the troops and therefore was precisely struck,” it said in a statement.
Israel has continued to carry out air strikes in Gaza since a US-brokered deal took effect in October that halted most fighting. Israel says its strikes are aimed at preventing attacks or destroying militant infrastructure.
Gaza's Health Ministry has said that 422 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect. Gaza militants have killed three Israeli soldiers during the same period.
Under the first phase of the deal, brokered by the US President Donald Trump, Israel retains control of 53 per cent of Gaza. Hamas agreed to hand over all living hostages and the remains of others in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel.
Hamas has not yet handed over the remains of one hostage, an Israeli police officer killed on October 7, 2023 – the day militants invaded Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel retaliated by launching a war on Gaza has killed more than 71,388 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to local health authorities. Most of the territory is in ruins, with most of the population of more than two million living in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in areas from which Israeli forces withdrew.
Earlier on Monday, a father and son in Gaza were killed when their house collapsed. It had been damaged in an earlier Israeli strike, authorities in Gaza said.
