Israel kills three Palestinians in Gaza despite ‘ceasefire’ 

At least three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone strike in northern Gaza.

The strike took place on Wednesday near al-Hilu station, which houses a private specialist hospital and a fuel station in Gaza City, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing local sources.

Earlier, the Israeli military said on Telegram that it killed four Hamas fighters in separate strikes in northern Gaza.

The military identified them as Wael Mahmoud Ali Labad, Muaz Mohammad Hassan Ahmad, Sameh Abu Kamil and Akram Ashraf Hamad Labad. It provided no evidence to support its claim that they were Hamas fighters.

The latest killings come despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to a “ceasefire” in October. Although large-scale fighting has largely paused, Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the enclave have continued.

Since the truce took effect, at least 1,053 Palestinians have been killed and 3,406 others wounded, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office, which says it has also documented 3,465 Israeli violations of the agreement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says a total of 73,066 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 173,514 others injured since Israel launched its genocidal war on the Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.

During the “ceasefire”, the Israeli military has also continued expanding the area under its control inside Gaza while issuing forced displacement orders.

It has prohibited the Palestinians from entering territory beyond the so-called “Yellow Line”, effectively putting about 53 percent of the enclave out of the bounds of the residents. That land expanded to 64 percent of Gaza by March, with the military displacing residents and levelling the remaining buildings in those areas.

On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to expand its control to more than 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.

Under the “ceasefire” deal, the parties were expected to move to a second phase after Hamas released the remaining captives covered by the first-stage deal in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. That phase was meant to include the group’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.

However, negotiations have remained stalled for months, with Hamas’s disarmament and the scope of an Israeli withdrawal continuing to be the main obstacles.