Israeli Fire Kills Palestinians in Gaza During Ceasefire

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least five Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Oct. 20, health officials said. The dead included a married couple and a 17-year-old boy. Reports differed on the toll: Haaretz reported five deaths, while AL-Monitor reported at least four.

Deaths in Gaza City and Khan Younis

Medics told AL-Monitor that an Israeli airstrike killed Akram Yassin and his wife, Dina Abu Baker, in their Gaza City apartment. The Israeli military said it struck a militant in the area, but offered no further details.

The Associated Press reported that two people died in a pre-dawn attack on a Gaza City apartment and others were wounded. Shifa Hospital received the bodies and identified the dead as a man and his wife, AP reported. The military said it had targeted a Hamas militant. AP captions identified the couple as Dina Yassin and her husband, and said their daughter, Dima Yassin, mourned at their funeral.

In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, medics said Israeli gunfire killed a 17-year-old boy near the Qizan Al-Najar neighbourhood. AL-Monitor reported another person killed by Israeli gunfire in the Zeitoun suburb, east of Gaza City. Haaretz reported five deaths overall, saying in its subheadline that Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian child in southern Gaza. Reports offered no further identifying details about the additional death reflected in Haaretz’s higher count.

Palestinians inspected the damaged apartment building, then gathered for the couple’s funeral. Mahmoud Yassin, whose brother was killed, said: “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.”

Strikes continue amid ceasefire

Monday’s strikes killed at least four people, the Associated Press reported. AP said Israel continued near-daily strikes on people it described as Hamas members, more than a year after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire.

Gaza’s health ministry said Israel had killed more than 1,500 Palestinians since last year’s ceasefire. AP described the ministry as part of the Hamas-run government and said it keeps detailed records, which U.N. agencies and independent experts generally consider reliable. The ministry’s toll doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants, AP reported, but says women and children account for nearly half of those killed.

Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the ceasefire, AL-Monitor reported. Israel also said it had stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks. Hamas denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal, and accused Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Unresolved terms of the deal

The United States brokered the ceasefire more than a year ago. AL-Monitor said the agreement calls for Gaza’s eventual reconstruction, but little progress had been made toward implementing a deal to end the conflict. Its terms include Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its troops.

Gaza health officials said Israeli fire had killed at least 1,500 Palestinians since the ceasefire. Israel said militants in Gaza had killed four of its soldiers over the same period. Tuesday’s reports also differed on the overall count: Haaretz reported five deaths, while AL-Monitor reported at least four.