At least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Monday amid Israel’s ongoing breach of the ceasefire deal that was reached in January.
One Israeli drone strike killed three men in central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp who eyewitnesses said were gathering firewood while cooking to break their Ramadan fast.
“The young men were busy, not very far away from me, collecting firewood. But without warning, a missile hit them. Some other people were injured. We climbed a hill to try to help them, and we were shocked to see a quadcopter overhead. We are so terrified,” a woman who was at the scene told Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military claimed the drone strike killed “terrorists” who were planting explosives but offered no evidence for the claim.
Another strike in the Bureij refugee camp killed two Palestinians. According to medics, the victims were a father and son who were sheltering at a school in the camp.
Israel has ramped up attacks on Gaza since March 2, the day it imposed a total blockade on aid, fuel, medicine, and all other goods in Gaza, causing food rationing as aid groups are running out of supplies. The single deadliest Israeli strike occurred on Saturday when nine Palestinians were killed in a bombing that targeted an aid group.
Israel repeatedly violated the ceasefire deal since the truce went into effect on January 19, killing over 150 Palestinians. Israel also violated the agreement by refusing to enter negotiations on the second phase and by imposing a total blockade after the end of the first phase.
