Israel Keeps Up Attacks in Gaza Despite Truce
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In the latest airstrike, the Israeli military killed at least nine people, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel says militants were threatening its forces.
Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians in Gaza in strikes on Saturday, according to the Gaza health ministry, the latest in a string of Israeli attacks on the enclave that have kept up despite a two-month-old truce with Hamas.
Since the cease-fire went into effect in mid-January, the military has conducted constant strikes in Gaza. Israel has accused militants of threatening its forces by laying explosive devices, flying drones or by approaching where Israeli troops are deployed.
Hamas has said those attacks have killed more than 150 people since the truce took effect, at least some of them civilians. And it has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement by continuing military operations.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it struck two militants who were operating a drone that posed a threat, and then struck a vehicle carrying others who had arrived to collect the drone operating equipment. It did not elaborate on how they posed a threat to Israeli troops.
Ismail Thawabteh, the director-general of the Hamas-controlled government media office in Gaza, said the nine Palestinians killed in the strike were working for a charity. The identities and statuses of those killed could not be independently verified.
The steady drumbeat of Israeli airstrikes is a reminder that while Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement that paused most fighting in Gaza, a comprehensive truce is still nowhere in sight. In Lebanon, Israel is conducting a similar aerial campaign against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah — a Hamas ally — during the U.S.-brokered cease-fire there, saying the group is attacking sites and operatives that have breached the agreement.