Israel has continued its air strikes and shootings in Gaza, raising fears over the future of its fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas, as United States envoys ramp up diplomacy to get the deal back on track.
The Palestinian Civil Defence agency said that four people were killed in two separate attacks, both times “by Israeli gunfire as they were returning to check on their homes” in the al-Shaaf area, east of Tuffah neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza City.
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Israel’s military claimed it had fired at militants who crossed the so-called yellow line of demarcation and had approached troops in the Shujayea neighbourhood, which is adjacent to Tuffah, and “posed a threat” to Israeli soldiers.
The yellow line, set out in a map shared by US President Donald Trump on October 4, is the boundary behind which Israeli troops pulled back and remain stationed under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Gaza City residents reported confusion over the line’s location because of a lack of a visible boundary. “The whole area is in ruins. We saw the maps but we can’t tell where those lines are”, said Samir, 50, who lives in Tuffah in the city’s east.
Several outbreaks of violence have taken place since a fragile US-brokered ceasefire began on October 10, with at least 97 Palestinians killed in total, according to Gaza officials.
‘ Blatant breaches ‘
Amid the rising death toll, Israel and Hamas have pointed the finger at one another for breaking the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10.
Israeli air attacks on Sunday killed 42 people, including children, according to local health officials. Israel said the strikes were in retaliation for a truce violation by Hamas fighters, who it claimed shot and killed two Israeli soldiers in Rafah.
Hamas denied involvement in the event, saying it has no contact with any of its remaining units in Israeli-controlled parts of Rafah and “is not responsible for any incidents” there. One official accused Israel of fabricating “pretexts” to resume the war.
The group, which has released 20 living Israeli captives, said it was working to complete the handover of the remaining bodies of captives in Gaza, citing “major challenges because of the extensive destruction” of the enclave.
The Red Cross received the body of a 13th deceased captive from Hamas on Monday and transferred it to the Israeli military, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Sunday, Israel threatened to halt shipments of , humanitarian aid into Gaza, though it later said it had resumed enforcing the ceasefire.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the delivery of aid into the territory had resumed, though he did not say how much.
Israel is still preventing aid entering Gaza, according to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum on Monday. These trucks are loaded with various humanitarian supplies, he claimed, and several military checkpoints are preventing them from entering.
Palestinians feared the ceasefire would not continue, according to Abu Azzoum, who claimed the Israeli army had hit Khan Younis’ eastern areas on Monday.
In a statement on X, UNRWA’s head, Philippe Lazzarini, stated that the fragile ceasefire in #Gaza must be upheld, and that there should be inquiries into the “blatant breaches” of international humanitarian law.
#Gaza’s fragile ceasefire must be upheld.
Four people were killed yesterday when Israeli forces shelled a UNRWA school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp. More injuries are reported.
Shelters were built in UNRWA buildings throughout the Gaza Strip…
Salvage maneuvers
Two of Trump’s envoys made a trip to Israel on Monday to help with the ceasefire agreement as the violence persisted.
According to an official from the Israeli government, Netanyahu and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
On Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance will meet with Netanyahu in Israel.
The next step in the ceasefire is expected to be Hamas’ disarmament, Israeli withdrawal from additional Gaza-controlled areas, and establishing future rule over the devastated region under an international “board of peace.”
Hamas said in a statement that Egypt and senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya met in Cairo on Monday to discuss how to implement the ceasefire.
Hamas and other allies reject any foreign-run Gazan government as suggested by the Trump plan, and they have so far refrained from laying down arms, which may make the deal more difficult to implement.
Trump made an appearance when asked about keeping the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, blaming Hamas for the violations, saying there was “some rebellion” among its members that the leaders needed to overthrow.
He said, “They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated.” He argued, however, that US troops wouldn’t be present for such a move.
Hamas security forces have been resuming operations in Gaza since the ceasefire started, killing alleged gangsters and engaging in other violent acts.
Trump claimed last week that Hamas had “a few very bad, very bad gangs” under his leadership.
Source: Aljazeera
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