Hamas demands action for Israeli violations of Gaza ceasefire agreement

The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, renewed its demand on Saturday that mediators and guarantor countries take action because of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Israel committed a “horrific massacre” in central Gaza earlier Saturday.

“The criminal Zionist occupation committed today a horrific massacre by killing six citizens in Bureij camp, in continuation of a genocide war that has not stopped despite all the misleading talk about the ceasefire holding,” said Qassem.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the Palestinians were killed and others injured before dawn Saturday in an Israeli strike targeting a civilian gathering in the camp.

Later Saturday, another Palestinian was killed in an Israeli strike on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, bringing the death toll from Israeli attacks since dawn to seven, according to the medical sources.

Qassem said the killings reaffirmed the Palestinian resistance factions’ demand that Israel be compelled to implement the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, including ending all violations, before any move toward the second phase.

He said continued attacks reflected “complete Israeli disregard” for the efforts of mediators and states guaranteeing the agreement.

Qassem added that Israel was “ignoring all calls” to stop the genocide and comply with the obligations of the ceasefire deal.

Earlier Saturday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the killing of the Palestinians in Bureij and urged the international community to protect Palestinians, impose sanctions on Israel and activate international accountability mechanisms.

It said the Bureij killings came within the framework of Israel’s continuing aggression, genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.

More than 72,000 people have been killed and over 171,000 injured in a genocidal Israeli war in Gaza since October 2023. The assault was halted under a US-backed ceasefire that took effect last October.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 749 Palestinians have been killed and 2,082 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire.

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref