Israeli attacks kill more Palestinians in Gaza despite ceasefire

Three Palestinians were reported killed in Israeli strikes and demolitions in Gaza on Wednesday in continued violations of a ceasefire.

Palestinian media reported artillery shelling east of Khan Younis in the Strip’s south. 

Israel also demolished more homes in eastern Gaza City whilst simultaneously conducting strikes on the city.

Al-Awda Hospital reported the death of at least one person after Israeli forces targeted residents collecting firewood east of Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Israeli forces also shot dead two Palestinians for allegedly crossing the 'Yellow Line', the boundary to which Israeli forces have pulled back to within the Gaza Strip.

Israel says it will not withdraw from this area until it verifies that Hamas has been fully disarmed during the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, which is yet to be agreed on.

The first phase, which went into effect on 10 October, has seen Hamas return to Israel 21 of the 28 deceased captives that were kept in Gaza, the latest being on Wednesday evening. These include one Thai national and one Nepali as well as 19 Israeli.

Hamas says it is still searching for the remains of other captives amid the rubble. Twenty Israeli captives who were still alive have all been handed back to Israel.

Israel has freed almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in its custody, but this represents less than 20 percent of all the Palestinian prisoners it holds.

The two-year war killed over 68,800 people in Gaza, including hundreds after the ceasefire went into effect.

Widely recognised as a genocide, the relentless bombardment has left most of the besieged Palestinian territory in ruins.

Israel-Egypt border 'military zone'

A senior delegation from Hamas led by Khalil al-Hayya met with Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss developments related to the ceasefire’s implementation.

Announcing details of the meeting Thursday, the Palestinian group said in a statement that discussions focused on Israeli violations of the deal, including continued shelling and gunfire in areas still controlled by the Israeli army.

Israel’s continued closure of the vital Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the obstruction of humanitarian aid entries were also discussed.

Tel Aviv has refused to reopen the crossing.

On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered to turn the area adjacent to the Egyptian border into a closed military zone, alleging that weapons were being smuggled by unmanned drones.

"Defence Minister Yisrael Katz issued instructions to the army to convert the area adjacent to the Israeli-Egyptian border into a closed military zone, and to amend rules of engagement accordingly," said Israeli Army radio.

It added that Katz agreed with the head of Shin Bet, David Zini, to "work toward classifying the threat of weapon smuggling using drones as a terrorist threat."