Hamas and Israel are blaming each other for the latest violation of the current ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Gazan authorities say Israeli airstrikes on multiple locations on Saturday killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 80 others.
Israel said it had attacked what it called an “armed terrorist” who it claims had crossed the Yellow Line beyond which its forces have withdrawn and fired at soldiers.
In addition, the military said that during a 24-hour military operation in the southern city of Rafah, it had killed or captured 17 militants attempting to flee underground facilities.
Israeli Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas has not stopped violating the ceasefire since the 10 October deal.
“We thwarted it with great force and also responded and exacted a very heavy price. That’s a lot of terrorists that we eliminated,” he said.
Hamas, for its part, has condemned what it said is Israel’s continued violation of the ceasefire agreement.
It said that since the deal was reached, Israeli forces have continued airstrikes and artillery attacks in eastern Gaza, repeatedly pushing its agreed deployment line westward.
A Hamas delegation met with international mediators in Cairo on Sunday calling on them to intervene to stop what it claims are Israel’s attempts to undermine the truce process
Israel has also called on mediators to demand that the Palestinian militant group fulfil its commitments under the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli strikes came as international momentum was building on Gaza, with the United Nations Security Council on Monday approving Washington’s blueprint to secure and govern the territory.
It authorises an international stabilisation force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump, and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.
The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage.
Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 69,733 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 injured in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.
The toll has gone up during the ceasefire both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.
Source: Africanews
