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Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians, including two boys, in central and southern Gaza, local health authorities said, and the Israeli military said it had “eliminated” a Palestinian militant who posed a threat to soldiers.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have traded blame for many breaches of the October ceasefire after two years of war that devastated Gaza and caused a humanitarian disaster, and remain at odds over the next steps in U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Palestinian medics said three people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed as a result of Israeli tank shelling east of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Two others, a boy, 13, and a woman, were killed in two separate Israeli shooting incidents in eastern Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, they said.
Residents said the two incidents occurred in Palestinian-controlled areas. The ceasefire led to a partial Israeli military withdrawal, leaving Israeli forces holding about 53 per cent of the enclave, but they have been gradually expanding their presence in recent weeks, leading to further displacement of Palestinian families, residents told Reuters.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the two incidents.
Earlier on Wednesday, it said in a statement that Israeli forces killed a “terrorist” who crossed into an area under their control, posing an imminent threat to soldiers operating there. The military did not provide evidence.
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Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
The U.S.-brokered October deal has not progressed beyond the first-phase ceasefire, under which major fighting stopped, some Israeli forces pulled back and Hamas freed hostages in return for Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.
Under future phases whose details have yet to be hammered out, Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli forces withdraw further and an internationally backed administration installed to rebuild the ruined, densely populated territory.
But no timetable has been set to implement the plan.
Trump was due on Thursday to preside over a ceremony celebrating the Board of Peace, a group he formed with the stated goal of redeveloping the coastal enclave.
Israel says it can only move into the second phase after Hamas hands over the remains of the last Israeli hostage.
On Wednesday, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the Islamist group had shared all information it had on the body of the last hostage and searched for it but in vain, blaming what it called Israeli military obstruction.
More than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed in clashes since the ceasefire took effect.
Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after a Hamas-led cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
