Tit-for-tat attacks as ceasefire subdues Gaza fighting
|
An Israeli air strike has killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza, local health authorities say, in what the military said was a retaliatory attack on a Hamas militant that was launched after its troops had come under fire.
Medical officials did not immediately identify the people killed. They said on Wednesday several people were also wounded in the air strike, which hit a house in Gaza City. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
The Israeli military said Hamas militants had shot at soldiers earlier on Wednesday and that the air strike targeted a senior Hamas militant who had directed attacks on its troops. The military did not say whether it had suffered any casualties.
Separately on Wednesday in the southern Gaza area of Rafah, an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia said it had killed two Hamas men, marking a renewed challenge to the militant group.
Nearly all of Gaza’s two million people live in Hamas-held areas, where the group has been re-establishing its grip and where four Hamas sources said it continues to command thousands of men despite suffering heavy blows during the war.
But Israel still holds well over half of Gaza – areas where Hamas’ foes operate beyond its reach. With US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza moving slowly, there is no immediate prospect of further Israeli withdrawals.
Fighting has greatly abated since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of war, but it has not stopped entirely. Both sides have accused each other of violations of the ceasefire.
More than 400 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, have been killed since the truce began, as well as three Israeli soldiers.
Reuters
