CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, north of the southern city of Rafah, which remains under Israeli control, according to local health authorities, further testing the fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
In a statement issued earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said forces identified “terrorists” who crossed the yellow line, which marks areas the army still occupies. It said they were advancing towards troops in southern Gaza, posing an immediate threat, before it struck them.
Medics said one of those killed was a woman. The identities of the two others weren’t immediately clear.
The incident follows days of Israeli strikes on the enclave, provoking mutual accusations between Hamas and Israel over violations of the tenuous ceasefire that halted two years of war.
Residents said Israeli forces continued to demolish houses in the eastern areas of Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City, where forces continue to operate.
The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, has calmed most fighting, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes in Gaza. Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities, and more aid has been allowed to enter.
Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held by Israel. Hamas has also agreed to turn over the bodies of hostages, a process which is still incomplete and which it says is difficult, while Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.
But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 239 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, nearly half of them in a single day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops.
Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed and it has targeted scores of fighters.
Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday it received 45 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel whose bodies were in Israeli custody. Monday’s handover raised the number of Palestinian bodies Israel has returned to Gaza to 270.
Hamas has so far returned 20 of the 28 bodies of hostages that had been buried in Gaza.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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