AT least one Palestinian has been killed and six, including a child, wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza amid a threat by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Palestinian man, Ayoub Abdel Ayesh Nasr, was killed and two people were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Wednesday.
Three people were wounded after being shot east of Khan Younis, medical sources told the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and wounded a child in central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 people in the battered enclave since the start of the ceasefire in October.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israel committed “serious and systematic violations” of the truce, noting that the Israeli forces had breached the ceasefire 875 times since it came into force.
The healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of total collapse, and the absence of much-needed aid, including medicine and medical supplies, is exacerbating the situation.
A 20-point plan proposed by United States President Donald Trump in September calls for an initial truce followed by steps towards a wider peace.
So far, only the first phase has taken effect, including a shaky release of captives and prisoners and a partial Israeli withdrawal.
Israel continues to violate a ceasefire agreement and block desperately needed humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged coastal enclave, even though these are stipulated in the first phase of the agreement.
Meanwhile, an explosive device detonated in southern Gaza’s Rafah, with Israel saying one soldier was injured.
PM Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate after the incident, which Hamas denied responsibility for, suggesting the explosive device had been left over by Israeli forces.
Hamas said the incident took place in an area where the Israeli army was in full control and that it had warned that explosives remained in the area and elsewhere since the war, reiterating its commitment to the October 10 ceasefire.
Netanyahu’s office also said an Israeli delegation met officials from mediating countries in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday to discuss efforts to return the remains of the last Israeli captive, police officer Ran Gvili, from Gaza.
The delegation included officials from the Israeli military, the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service and the Mossad intelligence service.
Trump’s plan ultimately calls for Hamas to disarm and have no governing role in Gaza, and for Israel to pull out.
Hamas has said it will hand over arms only once a Palestinian state is established, which Israel says it will never allow.
About 71,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 171,000 wounded in attacks in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023.