Israeli fire kills four people in Gaza, medics say
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four Palestinians, including a married couple and a 17-year-old, in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed Akram Yassin and his wife Dina Abu Baker in an apartment in Gaza City. The Israeli military said in a statement hours later that Yassin was a senior official in Hamas's general security apparatus in the Gaza Strip. It said the apparatus was tasked with protecting senior Hamas officials.
In Khan Younis, in the south, medics said a 17-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire near the Qizan Al-Najar neighbourhood, while another was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Zeitoun suburb east of Gaza City, taking Tuesday's death toll to at least four. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either of the two gunfire incidents.
Palestinians inspected the aftermath of the strike on the apartment in Gaza City before gathering for the couple's funeral. "We’re supposed to be in a ceasefire period, but honestly, we are not seeing a ceasefire or anything. The war is still going on, assassinations are continuing, and the shelling has not stopped," said Mahmoud Yassin, whose brother was killed.
Israel, which says the Hamas militant group has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks. Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.
The ceasefire, brokered by the US a year ago, calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made towards implementing a deal to end the conflict that includes terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Gaza health officials have said at least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
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