UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS DECK; OTHER EDITS
By Ramzi Mahmud, Ramzi Mahmud and Said Amori
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Four Palestinians were injured on Saturday by Israeli army gunfire across the Gaza Strip amid daily Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement in effect since last October.
A young girl and an elderly man were wounded by Israeli gunfire east of the southern city of Khan Younis, a medical source told Anadolu.
Another young girl was shot in the head by Israeli army gunfire in the Netzarim area in the central Gaza Strip, a medical source said.
In a separate incident, the medical source said a 60-year-old man was shot in the foot by Israeli army gunfire in the Al-Mughraqa area south of Gaza City.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces opened heavy, indiscriminate fire east of the city before carrying out large-scale demolitions of several residential buildings in the area.
They added that Israeli troops also fired indiscriminately in eastern areas of the Bureij refugee camp and the Zeitoun neighborhood.
In a related development, witnesses said Israeli fighter jets carried out several airstrikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City.
In the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli warplanes and artillery struck the Sheikh Zayed area east of Beit Lahia amid heavy gunfire from military helicopters overhead.
Residents also reported hearing explosions in multiple locations across northern Gaza, including areas under Israeli military control.
The so-called “Yellow Line” separates areas of Israeli military deployment, which account for about 53% of the Gaza Strip’s eastern territory, from western areas where Palestinians are permitted to move.
Israeli forces identified five fighters exiting a tunnel shaft in the Beit Hanoun area, Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing its military correspondent.
The report said troops targeted them, adding that preliminary assessments indicated four were killed, while operations at the site were ongoing.
No details were provided about the identity of the fighters or the group they allegedly belonged to. The Israeli military did not issue a statement on the reported incident.
The Oct. 10 ceasefire agreement ended Israel’s two-year war that began on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinian authorities say the conflict killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, wounded over 171,000 others, and caused widespread destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure. The UN estimates reconstruction costs at approximately $70 billion.
At least 591 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,578 others injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
* Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul