Israeli fire kills 11, including journalists in Gaza: Health officials

Israeli fire killed 11 Palestinians, including two boys and three journalists, in Gaza on Wednesday, local medics said.

In the ‍latest violence disrupting ‌a brittle, three-month-old ceasefire, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists travelling in ⁠a car in the central Gaza Strip.

The ‍three were on an assignment sponsored by the Egyptian Committee, which supervises Egypt's relief work in Gaza, to film tent encampments built by Egypt for displaced Palestinians, other local journalists told Reuters.

An Egyptian security source confirmed the vehicle belonged to the committee but gave no further details. ‍The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed by Israeli strikes at Nasser Hospital. Reuters

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for multiple breaches of the October truce ‍after two years of war that devastated Gaza and caused a humanitarian disaster, and remain at odds over the next steps in US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinian medics said three people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed as a result of Israeli tank shelling east of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza. Two others, a boy of 13 and a woman, were killed in two Israeli shooting incidents in eastern Khan Younis in Gaza's south, they said.

Three other Palestinians were killed in ‌other shootings across the coastal enclave, taking Wednesday's death toll to at least 11, the health ministry of the Hamas-run ‍Gaza said.

A young mourner reacts during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed by Israeli strikes. Reuters

Residents said the two incidents occurred in Palestinian-controlled areas. The ceasefire brought about a partial Israeli military withdrawal, leaving Israeli forces holding about 53% of the enclave, but they have been gradually expanding their presence in recent weeks, leading to further displacement of Palestinian families, residents ​told Reuters.

There was also no immediate Israeli military comment on the two incidents.

TRUMP PLAN STRUGGLES TO MOVE BEYOND FIRST ​STAGE

The US-brokered October ‍deal has not progressed beyond the first-phase ceasefire, under which major fighting stopped, some Israeli forces pulled back, and Hamas freed ‌hostages in return for Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.

A Palestinian father mourns his son Mustasem Al Shrafi, who was killed during Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis. Reuters

Trump was due ‌on Thursday to preside over a ceremony celebrating the Board of Peace, a group he formed with the stated goal of redeveloping the coastal enclave.

Israel says it can only move into the second phase after Hamas hands over the remains of the last Israeli hostage.

On Wednesday, Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the Islamist group had shared all information it had on the body of the ‌last hostage and searched for it but in vain, blaming what it called Israeli military obstruction.

More than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed in clashes since the ceasefire took effect.

Reuters