GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL
At least 34 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday despite a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, medical sources said.
The sources said six people lost their lives and several others were injured when a fighter jet struck a coffee shop in a residential area in the central town of Al-Zawayda, where a number of hospitals and tents sheltering displaced civilians are located.
In the same town, a Palestinian was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house known as the “Chalet” residence.
Four Palestinians were also killed and 13 others injured, including children, in an Israeli airstrike that hit a tent sheltering displaced people inside a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Two more Palestinians were killed in another strike targeting the vicinity of the “Al-Ahli Club” in the same camp.
Six more people were killed in another Israeli airstrike that targeted civilians in the Nuseirat camp, while another Palestinian lost his life and seven others were injured in another attack west of the camp.
An Israeli drone strike also killed two people near Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern town of Beit Lahia.
The Israeli army also bombed a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing four Palestinians and injuring eight others.
Another two Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential apartment in Gaza City, while a third lost his life in another attack in the same city.
Five more Palestinians were killed in another Israeli strike that hit a displacement tent in the Asda area, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
According to an Anadolu correspondent, the Israeli army launched a “belt of fire” toward the eastern areas of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza, which remain under its occupation.
The attacks came shortly after the army claimed that its troops came under attack in the southern city of Rafah.
The army said that two troops – a commander and a soldier – were killed in the attack, while a third was seriously injured.
A military statement said that the army has begun “the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,” without giving any further details.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged Palestinian residents in a statement to remain only on the western side of the yellow line, which defines Israeli troop withdrawal under the US-sponsored ceasefire deal.
Adraee published a map showing two color zones — yellow and red — warning civilians against being east of the yellow line, in the area marked in red.
The Israeli army described the red-marked area as a “highly dangerous combat zone,” according to the statement.
The army earlier said that it had begun a series of strikes against Hamas targets in southern Gaza in response to what it called “the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Hamas has denied any involvement in attacks or clashes in Rafah, stressing its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire and hostage swap agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 8, based on a phased plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed nearly 68,200 people and injured more than 170,200, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.