Since the US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas came into effect on October 10, Israel has committed up to 47 violations, killing at least 38 Palestinians and wounding 143 others, according to Gaza's media office.
"These violations have included crimes of direct gunfire against civilians, deliberate shelling and targeting, and the arrest of a number of civilians, reflecting the occupation’s continued policy of aggression despite the declared end of the war," the media office said in a statement.
According to Israeli media reports, the military has been carrying out attacks in Rafah and elsewhere in southern Gaza on Sunday. The reports claimed that the strikes followed an alleged "exchange of fire" between the Israeli forces and Hamas.
Hamas said it is unaware of any clashes between the group and the Israeli military in Rafah, stressing that the area is under Israel's control.
Palestinian officials called on "the United Nations and the guarantor parties of the agreement to intervene urgently to compel the occupation to end its ongoing aggression and to protect unarmed civilian populations."
On the contrary, the US on Saturday claimed it had "credible reports" that Hamas was planning an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza.
"This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts," said the State Department in a statement.
Hamas rejected the claims, stating that they “fully align with the misleading Israeli propaganda and provide cover for the continuation of the occupation’s crimes and organised aggression” against the Palestinians in Gaza.
The Palestinian group called on the US to “stop repeating the occupation’s misleading narrative and to focus on curbing its repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement."
"The facts on the ground reveal the exact opposite, as the occupation authorities are the ones who formed, armed, and funded criminal gangs that carried out killings, kidnappings, theft of aid trucks, and assaults against Palestinian civilians. They have openly admitted their crimes through media and video clips, confirming the occupation’s involvement in spreading chaos and disrupting security,” Hamas said in a statement.
Continuous violations
In the deadliest single violation of the fragile ceasefire, the Israeli military on Friday killed eleven members of a family, including seven children and three women. The displaced family was returning to their home when the vehicle they were travelling in was targeted and hit by the Israeli army. According to Gaza's civil defence, the attack happened in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The Israeli military claimed the vehicle had passed the 'yellow line', an imaginary boundary that demarcates areas that are still under Israel's control.
"I am certain the family couldn’t distinguish between the yellow and red lines because there are no actual physical markers on the ground," said Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Gaza civil defence.
The Israeli military also intensified violent raids in the occupied West Bank, killing Palestinians and demolishing properties. A 42-year-old Palestinian man was killed and at least two others were injured in an Israeli military raid in the al-Ein refugee camp, near Nablus on Sunday.
A 11-year-old child, Mohammad Hallaq, was shot dead by the Israeli military in the town of Al-Rihiya, south of Hebron, on Friday. Multiple settler attacks have also been reported from the occupied territory since the ceasefire came into effect.
Meanwhile, Israel on Saturday said the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed "until further notice." The border crossing serves as a crucial entry point for much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians facing famine caused by Israel's continuous blockade.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice. Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its obligations to return the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and to implement the agreed-upon terms,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Hamas has so far returned the remains of 12 out of 28 deceased captives. The Palestinian group on Saturday said it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.
The bodies of at least 10,000 Palestinians, killed in Israel's genocidal war, also remain trapped under the rubble in Gaza.
