GAZA: Israeli attacks have killed at least six people and injured 14 in the Gaza Strip in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, health authorities in the Palestinian enclave said on Tuesday.
Health authorities did not disclose the location of the attacks. Palestinian media reported a drone strike on the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Tuesday.
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA reported Israeli bombings in Gaza City, airstrikes targeting civilians in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, and an Israeli attack in the town of Al-Shawka, east of Rafah city.
An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement that a drone strike was conducted against Palestinian militants in central Gaza on Tuesday after identifying “several militants engaged in suspicious activity posing a threat to IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops.”
The strikes are the latest in a series of nearly daily Israeli attacks across the Palestinian enclave, following the expiration of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement on March 1.
Negotiations for the next phase, aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire, are underway in Doha. On Monday, an Israeli delegation visited Doha to discuss the second phase of the truce deal.
Gaza death toll surges to 48,503
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has said Gaza’s death toll from Israel’s destructive war since October 2023 has reached 48,503.
A ministry statement said the toll included the bodies of 32 Palestinians recovered from the rubble and four people killed by Israeli army fire in the last 24 hours.
Palestine has also rejected an Israeli request to roof the courtyard of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
“We reject the occupation’s request to roof the mosque courtyard as it harms its historical and heritage status and infringes on the exclusive Palestinian powers on the site,” Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Mohammad Najm said in a statement.
3,500 leave Gaza via Rafah: EU
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, has told the UN Security Council that some 3,500 people have so far crossed into Egypt from the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing. The figure includes more than 2,000 people needing medical treatment.
On January 31, the EU resumed its civilian mission to monitor the border crossing, which is a crucial entry and exit point for the Palestinian territory.
Electricity blackout in Gaza
Israel has cut off electricity to the besieged enclave, including a plant that provides drinking water to Palestinians.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen in a video statement on Sunday, Cohen said: “We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after the war.”
The announcement came a week after Israel cut off all aid supplies to the territory, which has a population of more than two million people.
The decision to cut electricity is expected to mainly impact the operation of desalination plants, which are essential for supplying clean drinking water.
