By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while an Israeli drone wounded four others in Gaza City, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday.
Medics said Israeli fire killed at least two people east of Tuffah neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip, and a 41-year-old man was killed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
Earlier, medical workers said an Israeli drone exploded on the rooftop of a multi-floor building in Gaza City, wounding four civilians in the street nearby.
An Israeli military spokesperson said they were not aware of any incident in Khan Younis involving a Palestinian being killed by gunfire. The spokesperson had no immediate comment on the reported shooting in Tuffah.
In response to questions about the Gaza City incident, in which four civilians were injured, a military spokesperson later said in a written statement that a camera on the roof of a “structure” that was used to monitor and advance attacks on troops was “precisely” struck by the military.
The spokesperson did not provide any evidence to support the assertion there was a camera, or that a camera was used to monitor Israeli military movements.
US ENVOYS MEET WITH ISRAEL PM NETANYAHU
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Saturday, mainly to discuss Gaza, Witkoff said on Sunday.
“The discussion was constructive and positive, with both sides aligned on next steps and the importance of continued cooperation on all matters critical to the region,” Witkoff said in a post on X.
Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
The Gaza health ministry says more than 71,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli fire since then. It also says that at least 480 people have been killed by Israeli fire since a ceasefire agreement came into effect last October.
BOTH SIDES TRADE BLAME FOR VIOLATIONS
Israel has said four soldiers had been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Both sides have traded blame for violations of the truce.
Earlier this month, Washington said the plan had moved into a second phase, in which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, more than 100 people attended the funeral of a person killed by Israeli drone fire on Saturday, after holding special prayers in front of his white-shrouded body at the morgue in Nasser Hospital.
“They are liars, there is no ceasefire,” said Fares Erheimat, a relative of the dead man, during the funeral.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; Additional reporting by Alex Cornwell in Jerusalem, Haseeb Alwazeer and Dawoud Abu Alkas in Gaza; Editing by Susan Fenton, David Holmes and Andrew Heavens)
