Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in separate incidents across the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials, while Hamas fighters clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia in eastern Khan Younis.
The deaths mark the latest violence to overshadow a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal signed in October after two years of full-blown war between Israel and Hamas. More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers.
Medics reported one man killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Bureij camp in the central area of the enclave, another strike killed one person and wounded others in Gaza City, and later on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in western Khan Younis, health officials at Gaza’s Nasser hospital said.
Witnesses said Hamas fighters clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia after the militiamen crossed into a Hamas-run area east of Khan Younis. As the militiamen tried to retreat, a Hamas fighter fired an anti-tank grenade towards their vehicle, some residents and a Hamas source said. An explosion was heard, but there was no word about casualties.
A video verified by Reuters showed gunmen apparently from the militia dressed in black uniforms and clutching AK assault rifles arriving at a Hamas-run area in eastern Khan Younis before shooting is heard. In a separate video, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, Hussam Alastal, the leader of the armed men, said his gunmen were on a mission to distribute food and cigarettes to Khan Younis residents before Hamas fighters opened fire against them. Alastal said one of his men was killed and he threatened Hamas with more incursions that would seize territory.
A Hamas security official said fighters confronted Alastal’s gunmen after they stormed civilian territory east of Khan Younis, endangering the lives of displaced families. The emergence of these small, localized groups has added to pressures on Islamist Hamas and could complicate efforts to stabilise and unify a divided and shattered Gaza.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident. The ceasefire that began last October left Israeli troops in control of a depopulated zone that makes up well over half of Gaza, with Hamas controlling the narrow coastal strip that remains.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for ceasefire violations. Israel says it aims to thwart attacks by Hamas and other militant factions.
What triggered the clashes between Hamas and the Israeli-backed militia in eastern Khan Younis?
Residents and sources close to Hamas said members of an Israeli-backed militia operating in an area under Israeli control crossed into a Hamas-run area east of Khan Younis, prompting Hamas fighters to confront them after they stormed civilian territory and endangered the lives of displaced families.
How many Palestinians have been killed since the October ceasefire deal took effect?
More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire deal took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers.
Did the Israeli military respond to the airstrikes or militia clashes reported on Monday?
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either the airstrikes that killed at least five Palestinians or the clashes between Hamas fighters and the Israeli-backed militia in eastern Khan Younis.