GAZA: Israel fired air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 11 Palestinians, Palestinian officials said, in what the military called a response to ceasefire violations by Palestinian group Hamas. Gaza medics said an Israeli air strike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south and another person was shot dead in the north. Air strikes also targeted what was thought to be a commander of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City.
Hazem Qassem, Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, accused Israel of committing a new "massacre" against displaced Palestinians, calling it a serious breach of the ceasefire days before the first meeting of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.
Israel has unilaterally moved the yellow line deeper into Gaza even though Israeli withdrawals are part of the ceasefire deal, and Hamas has so far rejected demands to lay down its weapons, also envisaged in the plan. Qassem urged those attending the first meeting of Trump's new international Board of Peace for Gaza on Thursday to pressure Israel to stop violating the truce and implement the agreement without delay.
The Israeli military said it continued to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the agreement and that its aircraft had attacked a building east of the Yellow line after seeing militants emerging from a tunnel and killed at least two of them. Gaza officials had no information on those reported casualties. The Gaza health ministry says that at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres has halted "non-critical" medical activities at a major hospital in southern Gaza following reports from patients and its own staff of armed men inside the facility and concerns over the movement of weapons within it. MSF's statement appeared to mark the first time that an international humanitarian group in Gaza has publicly reported the presence of armed men in a hospital or the possible use of such a facility for moving weapons. The Geneva-based medical charity said non-essential operations at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis were suspended on January 20 over concerns with the "management of the structure, the safeguarding of its neutrality, and security breaches."
In recent months, patients and personnel had "seen armed men, some masked," in areas of the hospital compound, MSF said. The Interior Ministry said in a statement it was committed to preventing any armed presence inside hospitals, and that legal action would be taken against violators. It suggested that armed members of certain Gazan families had recently entered hospitals, but did not identify those involved.
Since the ceasefire, "MSF teams have reported a pattern of unacceptable acts, including the presence of armed men, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients, and a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons," it said. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the territory since the ceasefire began, while Palestinian militants have killed four Israeli soldiers in the same period. MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, disclosed the Nasser Hospital suspension in a "frequently asked questions" section on its website about its work in Gaza, last updated on February 11.
The armed men had been seen in areas of the hospital compound where MSF does not carry out activities, but their presence, along with suspected weapons transfers, posed serious security risks to patients and personnel, MSF said. An MSF representative said the organisation continued to support some critical services at Nasser Hospital, including inpatient and surgical care for certain patients requiring lifesaving treatment. — Reuters
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