UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Ramzi Mahmud and Betul Yilmaz
GAZA CITY, Palestine/ ISTANBUL (AA) - Five Palestinians were killed, others injured in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, in a new violation of a ceasefire agreement, medical sources told Anadolu.
Two children were among the victims in the attacks that targeted tents sheltering displaced civilians in a refugee camp in Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, the sources said.
Several tents caught fire after the strikes, according to an Anadolu reporter.
The strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “respond accordingly” to the injury of soldiers in clashes with Palestinian fighters in Rafah.
The army said early Wednesday that five soldiers were injured in an exchange of fire with Palestinian fighters who allegedly emerged from underground tunnels in eastern Rafah.
The Israeli army claimed that the strikes targeted a senior Hamas official in Rafah.
According to Israeli media reports, there are around 200 Hamas fighters who are trapped inside underground tunnels in Rafah, and Tel Aviv has not yet responded to demands by Hamas and mediators to allow them safe passage to areas under the group’s control.
Hamas denounced Israeli attacks in Khan Younis as “a blatant war crime, a disregard for the ceasefire agreement, and a flagrant attempt to evade Israel’s obligations.”
It held Israel fully responsible for the repercussions of this escalation and called on mediators and guarantor countries to force Netanyahu and his government to halt its “crimes” and abide by the agreement.
Hamas has previously said that it has no relation and lost communication with the fighters trapped in Rafah, affirming its full compliance with the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct. 10.
Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.