 "Israel conducts targeted strike near Gaza rocket launch site amid fragile truce")
Israel’s military said on Thursday that it had carried out a targeted strike on a rocket launch site near Gaza City after detecting a failed launch, as uncertainty grows over the timing of the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
According to the military, the projectile did not enter Israeli territory, and the site was struck shortly after the launch attempt. The army accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire twice in the past 24 hours, while a Hamas source told Reuters that the group was investigating the claims.
The fragility of the truce was further underscored by reports from local Palestinian health authorities that two people—a woman and a boy—were injured in separate shootings by Israeli forces in southern and northern Gaza on Thursday. Israel had no immediate comment on the incidents.
Israel is awaiting the handover of the final body required under the current stage of the truce. An official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will not proceed to the next phase of the ceasefire until Hamas returns the remains of the last Israeli hostage still held in Gaza.
The opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, another element of the US-backed ceasefire plan, has also been delayed. Israeli authorities have stated it will only be opened once the remains are handed over.
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Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the ceasefire deal and remain far apart on the more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase. Israel has continued to carry out air strikes and targeted operations across Gaza. The Israeli military said it views “with utmost severity” any attempts by militant groups in Gaza to attack Israel.
A Hamas official told Reuters on Thursday the group had documented more than 1,100 Israeli violations of the ceasefire since October and had urged mediators to intervene. The violations include killings, injuries, artillery and aerial strikes, home demolitions and detention of people, he said.
Hamas has refused to disarm and has been reasserting its control as Israeli troops remain entrenched in about half the Gaza Strip. Israel has said it will resume military action if Hamas is not disarmed peacefully. More than 400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the truce, according to Gaza health officials, as well as three Israeli soldiers.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 others in an assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
With inputs from agencies
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