Israeli airstrike kills at least 10 near Gaza school as ceasefire strains

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people and wounded several others outside a school housing displaced Palestinians on Monday, health officials said, in the latest violence ‌overshadowing the fragile US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal.

Before the strikes, some Palestinians had clashed with members of ​an Israeli-backed ⁠militia, who they said attacked the school in an attempt to ‌abduct some people, medics and ‌residents said.

In the midst of the clashes, east of the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli drones fired two missiles into the area, killing at least 10 people and wounding several ‌others, they added.

It was not immediately clear how many civilians had been killed in the strikes, ⁠which hit in a closely packed neighborhood of mostly displaced Palestinians.

Ahmed Al Maghazi, an eyewitness, said their area was attacked by members of the Israeli-backed militia who operate in the territory adjacent to where the Israeli forces are in control, before they opened fire.

"The residents tried to defend their homes, but the occupation forces targeted them directly," he told Reuters.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli ​airstrike killed one Palestinian and wounded a child as they traveled on a motorbike in ‌Gaza City, medics said.

Medics said that Israeli forces killed another Palestinian when they opened fire on a vehicle in central Gaza, taking Monday's death toll to at least 12.

The Israeli military ⁠had no immediate comment on any of the three incidents on Monday.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, and Israel have traded blame over violations of the ceasefire that kicked off in ​October.

The Gaza ‌health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire began. ‌Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

The violence comes as Hamas has continued to resist relinquishing its weapons, a major obstacle in talks to implement the next ‌steps in U.S. ‌President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan for Gaza.

On Sunday, ⁠Hamas' armed wing said that discussing the group's disarmament before Israel fully ‌implements the first phase of Trump's Gaza plan was an attempt to continue what it called a genocide against the Palestinian people.

Reuters