The Israeli army killed five people in the Gaza Strip today despite a ceasefire with the Palestinian movement Hamas.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it killed four militants in Rafah, in southern Gaza, after they emerged from an underground tunnel and opened fire on soldiers.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian farmer in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, local health authorities said. Israel has not commented on the matter.
The military described the attack on Israeli soldiers as a violation of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which came into effect in October last year, saying it viewed it with the "greatest seriousness".
Israel has responded to similar incidents in recent months by carrying out airstrikes across Gaza, killing dozens of people, Reuters reports.
Hamas has not yet commented. However, some sources close to it have said that one of those killed was Anas Anashar, the son of a former senior Hamas politician.
Dozens of Hamas fighters have been trapped in tunnels under Rafah since the ceasefire came into effect, and some have since been killed in clashes with Israeli forces.
The two sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations, while Washington is pressing to move to the next stages of the ceasefire agreement, which aims to permanently end the conflict.
The next phase of US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza envisages resolving complex issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, which the group has long refused to do, a further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the deployment of international peacekeeping forces.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 580 Palestinians had been killed since a ceasefire was reached in October. Israel says militants in Gaza have killed four Israeli soldiers in the same period.
The Gaza war began with Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1.200 people. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the death toll in Gaza now exceeds 71.000.
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