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Hamas medical and civil defense officials said a series of Israeli air strikes in northern and central Gaza killed at least 22 Palestinians.
They said five locations were hit, including homes. According to local sources, a senior Hamas commander was among the dead.
The Israeli military said it struck targets in Gaza in response to an incident earlier on Saturday when it said an “armed terrorist” opened fire on soldiers after crossing the so-called “yellow line” in the Gaza Strip, which designates areas under full Israeli control. Hamas denies this.
Both sides accuse the other of violating a ceasefire agreed six weeks ago.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 310 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire agreement came into effect.
The territory’s civil defense said Saturday’s Israeli strikes targeted Gaza City in the north and the Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat camps in central Gaza.
Hamas officials said five people were killed at the Abbas intersection in Gaza City’s densely populated Rimal district. Witnesses said an Israeli attack caused a car to catch fire.
Separately, three people were killed near a mosque in Deir al-Balah, officials said.
They added that two houses were targeted in Israeli attacks in Nuserat and three were killed after the house of Abu Amouneh’s family was attacked. Seven more people were killed in another attack on the house of Abu Shawish’s family.
Three other people were killed late Saturday when a house was hit in western Gaza City, officials said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a subsequent statement: “Today, Hamas once again violated the ceasefire agreement by sending a terrorist into Israeli-controlled territory to attack IDF soldiers. In response, Israel eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists.”
The statement also called on the mediators to “insist on Hamas honoring its ceasefire agreement.”
After the attack, Hamas said the army’s push westward across the Yellow Line and continued bombardment of eastern Gaza constituted a “blatant violation” of the agreement.
The group called for urgent intervention by mediators and the United States, warning that Israel was trying to impose “new facts on the ground” and undermine the ceasefire.
On October 7, 2023, the Israeli military launched an offensive in Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed approximately 1,200 people and took another 251 people hostage.
Since then, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 69,500 people, including 280 during the ceasefire, according to the region’s health ministry.
