Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza as attacks rise despite October truce

GAZA CITY: Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, as a US-based conflict monitor reported that Israeli attacks had climbed to their highest monthly level since the latest ceasefire took effect in October.

Medics said two people were killed in an Israeli air strike near the Tuffah neighbourhood in northern Gaza. A third person was killed in Israeli tank shelling in the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, they said. In western Gaza City, another air strike hit a tent camp sheltering displaced people, killing one person and injuring several others. Medics also said an attack on a vehicle in Khan Younis in the south killed one more person.

Witnesses reported that a separate air strike hit a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, damaging several nearby homes. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the reported incidents.

Ceasefire under strain

According to Gaza health officials, more than 1,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into force in October. Hamas does not usually make public the number of its own fighters killed.

At Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Jibril Khattab, a relative of one of those killed, said the truce had brought no real respite for civilians.

The entire people of Gaza have not lived a single day or a single moment of ceasefire. This ceasefire is an illusion,

He added:

No place in all of Gaza is safe,

The October truce halted large-scale fighting but has not ended near-daily Israeli strikes. Over the same period, four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza.

Spike in strikes in June

Conflict monitor ACLED, which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said air strikes against Hamas and other militant groups rose to more than 40 in June, the highest monthly total recorded since the ceasefire began. The organisation also said other strikes hit people near the Yellow Line, killing and injuring civilians, including women and children.

ACLED Middle East Assistant Research Manager Nasser Khdour said the increase came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced domestic political pressure ahead of Israel's legislative election in October, with opinion polls showing the opposition ahead. Israel says its strikes are intended to prevent attacks by Gaza militants.

Nearly all of Gaza's 2 million residents are now living in a narrow coastal area, mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings, under Hamas control. According to Israeli tallies, Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people in their cross-border attack into Israel on October 7, 2023. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's ensuing military campaign has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians.