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Israeli airstrikes kill 22 in Gaza as ceasefire tensions escalate
At least 22 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across northern and central Gaza on Saturday, according to Hamas-run medical and civil defense officials, marking the latest surge in violence since a six-week ceasefire took effect.
Five locations were struck, including residential homes, with a senior Hamas commander among the dead, local sources reported. The Israeli military claimed the operation was retaliation for an earlier incident in which an "armed terrorist" allegedly crossed the "yellow line"-a demarcation marking Israeli-controlled areas-and opened fire on soldiers. Hamas denied the allegation.
Strikes target Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Nuseirat
Gaza's civil defense said the strikes hit Gaza City in the north, as well as Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. In Gaza City's densely populated Rimal neighborhood, five people died at Abbas junction after an Israeli strike set a car ablaze, witnesses said.
Three more were killed near a mosque in Deir al-Balah, while two separate strikes in Nuseirat destroyed the homes of the Abu Amouneh and Abu Shawish families, leaving three dead in the first and seven in the second. Later, another strike in western Gaza City claimed three additional lives, officials confirmed.
Ceasefire violations and escalating accusations
The Israeli military's response followed what it described as a Hamas breach of the ceasefire, when a gunman allegedly infiltrated Israeli-held territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later stated that Israel had "eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists" in retaliation, urging mediators to pressure Hamas into honoring the truce.
Hamas countered that Israel's westward expansion of the "yellow line" and ongoing bombardments in eastern Gaza constituted a "blatant breach" of the agreement. The group called for urgent intervention from mediators and the U.S., warning that Israel was attempting to "impose new facts on the ground" and destabilize the ceasefire.
Casualties mount since October 2023 offensive
The latest violence follows Israel's military campaign in Gaza, launched after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Gaza's health ministry reports that at least 69,500 Palestinians have died in Israeli attacks since then, including 280 during the ceasefire period alone.
"Today, Hamas violated the ceasefire again, sending a terrorist into Israel-held territory to attack IDF soldiers. In response, Israel eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists."
Statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
