CAIRO, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Israeli airstrikes killed three Palestinians, including two brothers, in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health officials said.
Medics said one man was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the rooftop of a residential building in Gaza City. Another airstrike in the nearby Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood killed two brothers, Mahmoud and Jamil Al-Absi, at a tent housing displaced people.
Commenting on the two strikes, the Israeli military said it struck militants it described as terrorists in both areas, without giving further details.
A US-brokered ceasefire last year called for the eventual reconstruction of Gaza, but little progress has been made. Negotiators have been unable to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, which control about two-thirds of the territory — an area from which the military ordered residents to leave.
In Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, people inspected the site of a metal foundry and nearby tents following an airstrike that killed three people on Tuesday. The airstrike destroyed the metal foundry and set some tents ablaze.
“We came to find 3 meters of fire in the tents. (There are) no clothes for myself, no clothes for my children, and no clothes for my wife (left). All the clothes are completely gone,” said Hisham Abdou, 32, a displaced father of two.
“My daughter was just speaking to me — I swear to God, it broke my heart — she said, ‘Daddy, where are my toys?’ I told her, ‘Praise be to God, my daughter, they are gone’,” he added.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.
Israel says Hamas is trying to regroup and refill its arsenal. Hamas says it is committed to the ceasefire agreement and accuses Israel of trying to undermine it.
At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement, according to the territory’s health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed.
Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza. Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people, by Israeli tallies, in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Mahmoud Issa in Gaza; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
