The Israeli army killed at least four Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Palestinian health authorities and medical sources.

“The Israeli army killed two Palestinians by attacking a group of locals with a military drone in the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip,” Gaza-based health authorities said in a press statement.

Advertisement

The Israeli army said in a press statement that its forces had spotted several individuals engaging in “suspicious activities” near military positions in northern Gaza, alleging that they were planting an explosive device, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement added that the Israeli Air Force launched an attack to “eliminate the threat” and reiterated the military’s commitment to removing any perceived dangers to Israeli soldiers and citizens.

Meanwhile, local sources and eyewitnesses reported a mass displacement of hundreds of families from the eastern areas of Beit Hanoun due to the airstrikes.

In a separate incident, medical teams recovered the body of a woman and treated two wounded people following an Israeli bombardment on the town of Al-Farahin, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

In Rafah, a young man was shot dead by Israeli gunfire while standing on the roof of his home in the city centre, according to Palestinian medical sources at Gaza’s European Hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israeli army has not commented on the incidents in Khan Younis and Rafah.

These developments came a day after the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended, which was supposed to be followed by negotiations on its second phase.

The new deaths came despite a ceasefire agreement that has been in place in Gaza since January 19, halting Israel’s war that has killed nearly 48,200 people and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.