‘Israeli’ strikes kill 12 in Gaza since dawn

• Gaza's civil defense reported at least 12 deaths from "Israeli" strikes on Sunday, including hits on tents for displaced people in Jabalia and Khan Younis, bringing the total reported deaths since the October ceasefire began to 601.
• The "Israeli" military claimed the strikes were a response to Hamas fighters crossing the "Yellow Line" to threaten troops, while Hamas accused "Israel" of a "serious violation" by targeting civilians in designated safe zones.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported that ‘Israeli’ strikes killed at least 12 people since dawn on Sunday, while a military official claimed the attacks were in response to ceasefire violations.

Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Palestinian territory, with ‘Israel’ and Hamas blaming each other for violating the agreement.

The civil defence agency said one strike hit a tent of displaced people in northern Gaza and another targeted an area in the south.

Five people were killed and several injured when an air strike targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in the north, the agency said in a statement.

Five more were killed and several injured in a separate early morning strike in the southern city of Khan Younis, the agency said, adding that one more was killed in ‘Israeli’ shelling in Gaza City.

The agency also said that one person was killed by ‘Israeli’ gunfire in Beit Lahia in north Gaza.

The Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals confirmed they had received the bodies of at least seven people.

Funeral prayers

Dozens of relatives and mourners gathered at Nasser Hospital, where the bodies of some of those killed were laid out in white shrouds.

Men and women stood in prayer ahead of the funeral, facing the corpses in the hospital compound.

A military official claimed ‘Israeli’ forces attacked in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement.

"The violation included an identification of several armed terrorists who took cover under debris east of the yellow line and adjacent to IDF troops, likely after exiting underground infrastructure in the area," the official said.

"Crossing the yellow line in the vicinity of IDF troops, while armed, is an explicit ceasefire violation, and demonstrates how Hamas systematically violates the ceasefire agreement with intent to harm the troops," the official added.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, ‘Israeli’ troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called "Yellow Line", although they remain in control of more than half of the Palestinian territory.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem in a statement on Sunday accused the ‘Israeli’ military of violating the ceasefire.

"Targeting of displaced people in their tents is a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement," Qassem said.

Gaza's health ministry says that at least 601 people have been killed since the truce began.