Israeli Fire Kills 6 Palestinians in Gaza, Including 2 Children, Medics Say

A fresh burst of Israeli fire has killed at least six Palestinians, among them two children, in separate incidents across Gaza, local health officials said, adding another strain to the fragile US-brokered ceasefire.

In Gaza City, four people, including a young child, were killed when a strike hit a police vehicle, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

The ministry said one of those killed was a police officer and that nine bystanders were wounded, some of them critically.

Farther north, near Jabalia, three-year-old Yahya Al-Malahi was killed by Israeli fire, according to health authorities and members of his family.

The Israeli military said separately that its forces killed a man in northern Gaza after he approached the armistice line with Hamas, describing him as an armed militant.

Health authorities said a man was killed in the same area but gave no further details.

Palestinian boy Suleiman Hacci with his mother in their makeshift tent in Gaza city

The ceasefire, which took hold last October, brought an end to two years of full-scale war. But it also left Israeli troops controlling a depopulated area that accounts for well over half of Gaza, while Hamas remains in charge of the rest of the narrow coastal territory.

Since October, Israel has stepped up strikes on Hamas-led police and security forces, killing dozens, according to the group’s officials in Gaza, who told ⁠Reuters that Israel was trying to fuel chaos and anarchy.

Israel says the operations are intended to prevent attacks by Hamas and other militant factions.

More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into force, while militants have killed four Israeli soldiers. Israel and Hamas have each accused the other of violating the truce.

Palestinians also say Israeli forces have been widening the area under their control. ‌Israel rejects that accusation.