Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian men in Gaza on Monday as they tried to gather firewood, medics said, with no sign of progress in renewed talks on sustaining a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
In the latest bloodshed to underline the fragility of the Gaza war’s three-stage truce, the three, all from the same family, had left their homes in central Gaza to collect the wood for cooking.
That has become a daily task for many Gazans as Israel has continued to ban fuel, food, and medical goods from entering Gaza for over two weeks, residents said.
The Israeli military said in a statement it struck “terrorists” operating near their forces and attempting to plant a bomb.
At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah, relatives rushed to pay farewell to the three white-shrouded bodies.
Later on Monday, medics said an Israeli air strike killed a father and his son inside a school sheltering displaced families in Bureij camp, near the site of the earlier strikes, raising the day’s death toll to five.
The Israeli military said the strike hit two people who were attempting to plant a bomb in the ground near where forces operated in Bureij.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Israel’s “violations” could “undermine all efforts for de-escalation”.
He put the number of Palestinians killed since the January ceasefire at 150.
Israel’s military says it has repeatedly thwarted attempts by Palestinians to plant bombs or otherwise threaten their forces.
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