CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday (May 17), health officials said, as ceasefire efforts meant to end fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group falter.
In the weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, Israel has stepped up its attacks in Gaza, where Hamas has been tightening its grip, even as Israeli troops remain in control of more than half the territory.
Medics said an Israeli strike killed one Palestinian near a police post and another at a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it killed a militant who posed an immediate threat to forces in the area.
Separately, Gaza medics said another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people at a community kitchen near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza area. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that incident.
Meanwhile, official medical sources said three Palestinians were killed, one in a shooting incident in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and two others in an Israeli airstrike near a bakery in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that incident.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, was killed in what it described as a precise strike on Gaza City on Friday.
Hamas confirmed Haddad’s death but stopped short of threatening revenge.
