Israel has violated ceasefire 47 times and killed 38 Palestinians, says Gaza media office | Gaza

Gaza’s media office accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since the ceasefire came into force in early October, killing 38 Palestinians and wounding 143.

“These violations included crimes of direct fire against civilians, crimes of deliberate bombardment and targeting, and the detention of large numbers of civilians, reflecting the occupation’s continued policy of aggression despite the declaration of an end to the war,” the statement said.

Officials in Gaza called on “the United Nations and the guarantor parties to the agreement to intervene urgently to force the occupation to end its ongoing aggression and protect the unarmed civilian population.”

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu said the Rafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid, would only reopen after Hamas handed over the bodies of all deceased hostages still held in Gaza.

In a statement made by his office on Saturday, it was said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu has instructed that the Rafah crossing remains closed until further notice.” “The reopening will be evaluated depending on how Hamas fulfills its obligations to return the hostages and bodies of the dead and to implement the agreed terms.”

Hamas later said it would hand over two more bodies of Israeli hostages at 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Saturday.

On Friday, 11 members of a Palestinian family were killed by Israeli forces; this was described as the only fatal breach of the Convention. fragile truce since it came into force eight days ago. The Gaza civil defense organization said that while the family was trying to reach their home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, the bus they were on was attacked for allegedly crossing the “yellow line” separating areas under the control of the Israeli army.

“They had crossed the so-called ‘yellow line’, which is the imaginary border that the Israeli army talks about,” Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said. “I’m sure the family couldn’t tell the difference between the yellow and red stripes because there were no actual physical markings on the ground.”

Footage released by Gaza’s civil defense agency shows the family’s bodies during a rescue mission with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The victims included seven children and three women.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that “a suspicious vehicle was detected crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the north of the Gaza Strip,” adding: “The soldiers fired warning shots at the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that posed an imminent threat to them. The troops opened fire to eliminate the threat in accordance with the agreement.”

Israel and Hamas continued to exchange blame for violations of the ceasefire. Israel accused the militant group of violating the ceasefire agreement by not returning the remains of dead hostages. On Monday, Hamas returned the last 20 surviving hostages but only 10 of the 28 dead captives, saying it would need special rescue equipment to pull the rest from the ruins of Gaza.

Türkiye has deployed dozens of disaster relief experts to help search for bodies under the rubble. The Palestinian death toll stands at over 68,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while efforts to recover bodies continue a week after the ceasefire began.

Gaza’s civil defense agency estimates that the bodies of approximately 10,000 people are buried under rubble and collapsed buildings. Considering that there is an estimated 60 million tons of debris in the area, the task ahead of rescuers is enormous.

The body of a deceased hostage brought by Hamas overnight has been identified as Eliyahu Margalit, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday. He also confirmed that he plans to run in next year’s elections.

Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number delivered to 135, the health ministry said. According to doctors’ statements, doctors at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said the bodies showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolding, handcuffing and bullet wounds in the head.

Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations warned that aid was critically short in Gaza, a week after the ceasefire, as Israel delayed the entry of food convoys into the area.

The Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced on Saturday that Palestinian citizens living in Egypt and wishing to return to Gaza will be able to travel through the Rafah gate as of Monday.

In a separate development on Saturday, a man was killed in an Israeli attack on a construction vehicle in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s health ministry reported.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities with the militant group Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of open war.