At least eight people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Wednesday, according to the Palestinian territory’s civil defense agency.
Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the agency, said the fatalities occurred during predawn attacks on Gaza City. “At least eight martyrs as a result of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City at dawn,” he said, noting that seven victims were killed in strikes targeting residential buildings, while another died in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of the city.
The attacks also left several people injured. Bassal said Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City received 15 wounded individuals following the strikes.
The latest violence comes despite a ceasefire that has technically been in place since October. However, near-daily clashes and military operations have continued across the Gaza Strip, more than half of which remains under Israeli military control, contrary to the terms of the truce.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose casualty figures are regarded as reliable by the United Nations, at least 936 people have been killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect.
The initial phase of the agreement saw the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
Progress toward the second stage of the truce has remained at a standstill for months. That phase was expected to include the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had instructed the military to establish control over 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The conflict also saw another significant development with the death of Mohammed Odeh, the latest commander of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza. Odeh was killed in an Israeli strike last week, just one month after his predecessor was also eliminated in a separate attack.
