Israeli Airstrikes Claim 12 Palestinian Lives in Gaza Amid Ceasefire Disputes
At least twelve Palestinians were killed and numerous others injured across the Gaza Strip on Sunday following a series of Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military stated these attacks were direct responses to what they described as ceasefire violations by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza.
Multiple Strikes Target Displaced Civilians
The Gaza civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, reported that five individuals lost their lives and several were wounded when an airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the northern city of Jabalia. In a separate early morning incident in the southern city of Khan Younis, five more people were killed and multiple others injured. Additional casualties included one person killed by Israeli shelling in Gaza City and another fatally wounded by Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahia.
Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, condemned the attacks as a new "massacre" against displaced Palestinians, labeling them a serious breach of the ceasefire just days before the inaugural meeting of former US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace. Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence has persisted in the Palestinian territory, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the agreement.
Hospital Confirms Receipt of Bodies
Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals confirmed receiving the bodies of at least seven individuals killed in the attacks. Dozens of grieving relatives and mourners gathered at Nasser hospital, where some of the deceased were laid out in white shrouds. Men and women stood in prayer before the funeral, facing the corpses in the hospital compound.
Osama Abu Askar, who lost his nephew in the Jabalia attack, told Agence France-Presse that the victims were struck while sleeping. "We've been living under a truce for months and they've still targeted us. Israel operates on this principle – saying one thing and doing another," Askar lamented, adding, "Israel doesn't understand ceasefires or truces."
Military Justification and Ceasefire Terms
A military official explained that Israeli forces attacked in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a designated "yellow line," although they maintain control over more than half of the Palestinian territory.
"The violation included an identification of several armed terrorists who took cover under debris east of the yellow line and adjacent to IDF troops, likely after exiting underground infrastructure in the area," the official stated. "Crossing the yellow line in the vicinity of IDF troops, while armed, is an explicit ceasefire violation, and demonstrates how Hamas systematically violates the ceasefire agreement with intent to harm the troops."
Israel has unilaterally moved the yellow line deeper into Gaza, despite Israeli withdrawals being a component of the ceasefire deal. Hamas has thus far rejected demands to disarm, as outlined in the plan, prompting Israel to assert it will force disarmament if necessary.
Escalating Casualty Figures
Gaza's health ministry reports that at least 601 people have been killed since the truce began. In contrast, the Israeli military states that at least four of its soldiers have been killed during the same period. The ongoing violence underscores the fragility of the ceasefire and the deep-seated tensions between the conflicting parties.
