Airstrikes in Gaza leave 14 dead as Israel says attacks targeted Hamas after armed breach

Israel’s military on Saturday said it carried out airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza, relentlessly testing the relevance of the ceasefire that has been in place since 10 October. Health authorities in Gaza reported at least 14 people killed and 45 wounded in the strikes, including several children.

Similar exchanges have taken place during the ceasefire following reported attacks on Israeli forces. According to medical officials, one of Saturday’s strikes hit a vehicle in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, killing seven people and injuring 18. Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, said most of the wounded were children, a point echoed by hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya.

A separate strike on a house near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and left 11 injured, the hospital said.

Another strike on a house in Nuseirat camp killed one child and wounded 16 others, while Al-Aqsa Hospital reported that three people, including a woman, were killed in a strike on a house in Deir al-Balah.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the strikes were in retaliation for an incident in which an “armed terrorist” allegedly crossed into an Israeli-held area in southern Gaza and opened fire at soldiers.

No Israeli troops were injured in that attack. The military claimed the assailant used a road designated for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

In a separate statement, the military said its soldiers killed three “terrorists” in the Rafah area and fatally shot two others after firing on four people who had crossed into Israeli-held territory in northern Gaza and advanced toward soldiers in two separate incidents.

With inputs from PTI/AP