The Israeli military has said that it killed three Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after detecting eight people exiting an underground tunnel despite an ongoing ceasefire.
In a statement on Friday, the army said Unit 414 identified eight people exiting underground infrastructure in eastern Rafah overnight.
Separately, eye witnesses said an Israeli drone targeted a civilian gathering near the Abu Namous roundabout east of Maghazi refugee camp early in the morning, killing two men in an area Israeli forces had withdrawn from under the ceasefire.
In a related development, witnesses said Israeli military vehicles and helicopters opened heavy, indiscriminate fire east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, in areas under Israeli control.
Israeli fighter jets also carried out several airstrikes inside areas controlled by the Israeli military in the southern city of Rafah, while heavy and random gunfire targeted western parts of the city.
Second phase of Gaza ceasefire
Since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, Israel has violatated the ceasefire almost daily, killing 492 Palestinians and wounding 1,356, amid continued restrictions on aid and border crossings.
In mid-January, the ceasefire agreement entered its second phas nearly two years after the start of Israel’s genocidal war that devastated the enclave.
The new phase aims to move beyond a temporary military pause toward long-term political and security arrangements, including disarmament, the formation of a transitional technocratic administration, and the launch of large-scale reconstruction efforts.
