At least 137 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on 19 January, local authorities said yesterday.
In a statement, Salama Marouf, the head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, accused Israel of deliberately intensifying its attacks on Palestinians over the past ten days in violation of the ceasefire deal.
“The latest of these crimes was an Israeli air strike targeting a group of citizens in central Gaza, killing five, including two brothers, raising the total number of martyrs since the ceasefire began to 137,” Marouf said.
According to witnesses, an Israeli drone struck a group of Palestinians near a destroyed house in the Netzarim area, close to Gaza City’s southeastern border, killing five people.
Meanwhile, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor put the death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire at 150 Palestinians.
According to the Geneva-based group, Israel has killed an average of six Palestinians every two days, with 605 others injured.
More than 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023. The onslaught was paused by the ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, which took hold in January.
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