Gaza ceasefire faces fresh test as Israeli strikes kill 21, officials say

Gaza's civic defence government agency said 21 people were killed and dozens thomas more maimed in multiple Israeli broadcast strikes on Saturday, as Hamas and Israel again traded allegations of violating the fragile ceasefire.

Saturday was one of the deadliest days since the US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, after two years of war.

The Israeli military said an "armed terrorist" had crossed the so-called Yellow Line within the Gaza Strip, behind which Israeli forces have withdrawn, and fired at Israeli soldiers.

In response to the incident in southern Gaza, which it said was on a route used for humanitarian aid deliveries in the territory, the Israeli military said it "began striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip".

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP there were "21 martyrs this evening in five separate Israeli air strikes, in a clear violation of the ceasefire in Gaza".

They included seven killed and more than 16 injured in a strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, and four killed and several injured in an air strike on a residential apartment in the Al-Nasr district, west of Gaza City, he said.

- Vehicle hit -

The first reported strike targeted a vehicle in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City. Five people were killed and several injured, said Bassal.

An AFP photographer at the scene witnessed passers-by approaching the wreckage of the burnt-out car, with children appearing to be trying to salvage food from inside.

AFP has sought a comment from the Israeli military on Saturday's air strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of breaching the truce agreement.

"Today, Hamas violated the ceasefire again, sending a terrorist into Israel held territory to attack IDF soldiers. In response, Israel eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists," it said on X.

"Israel has fully honoured the ceasefire, Hamas has not. Throughout the ceasefire, dozens of Hamas terrorists have crossed the Israeli lines to attack our troops.

“We again call on the mediators to insist that Hamas fulfil its side of the ceasefire.”

- Hamas appeals to mediators -

In a statement, Hamas said the "escalation" of Israeli violations were "attempts to undermine the ceasefire".

"We affirm our rejection of all attempts" by Netanyahu's government "to impose a de facto reality that contradicts what was agreed upon, and we call on the mediators to intervene urgently and exert pressure to stop these violations immediately".

On Wednesday, Gaza had already seen one of its deadliest days since the truce came into effect, with officials reporting 27 fatalities.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Thursday, 312 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took hold.

The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.

Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed at least 69,733 people, according to figures from the health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

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