GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in separate incidents across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian health officials said, in continued violations in nearly three months after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.
Medical sources, cited by Anadolu news agency, said one Palestinian was shot dead in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Two others were killed in the southern town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, where Israeli forces still maintain a presence, according to hospital officials.
The Israeli military said its forces fired at a person in northern Gaza who had crossed into an area under Israeli control and posed an “immediate threat”. A hit was identified, it said. The military did not comment on the incident in southern Gaza.
Ceasefire under strain
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on October 10, bringing a halt to more than two years of intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
While the scale of attacks has reduced, Israeli violence has not stopped entirely.
A Hamas official told Reuters that the group had urged mediators to intervene to stop what it described as “daily Israeli killings aimed at derailing the ceasefire deal”.
According to Gaza health officials, more than 440 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the truce came into force.
The Israeli military says any actions since the ceasefire have been responses to violations of the agreement.
In a statement, the Israeli army said it had killed three Palestinians in Gaza during operations by armoured and infantry units.
The military said forces from the 188th Armoured Brigade in southern Gaza identified three Palestinians who allegedly crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops, posing an immediate threat.
An Israeli aircraft then carried out an air strike west of the Yellow Line to “neutralise the threat”, the statement said.
Political developments in Gaza
The latest violence comes as Hamas said on Sunday it would dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a new Palestinian technocratic committee takes over under a US-brokered peace plan.
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognised representative of the Palestinians, have yet to announce the names of the technocrats, who are meant to be politically unaffiliated.
Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said in comments posted on Telegram that the establishment of the technocratic committee should be accelerated.
An Egyptian official, cited by the Associated Press and speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamas would send a delegation to talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials to discuss moving to the second phase of the ceasefire.
The delegation will be led by senior negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the official said.
‘Board of Peace’ and ceasefire oversight
Under the US-backed plan, an international body known as the “Board of Peace”, led by US President Donald Trump, is meant to oversee Gaza’s governance and other aspects of the ceasefire, including the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force and Gaza’s reconstruction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov had been selected as the board’s director-general.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, Israeli violence has continued. Palestinian officials say Israeli attacks since the ceasefire have killed more than 440 people and wounded over 1,000 others.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 71,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 others, the territory’s health ministry said. The relentless Israeli bombardment campaign has left most of the Gaza Strip in ruins.
