The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it killed two Palestinians in southern Gaza as it continues to launch attacks in the Strip despite the US-backed ceasefire deal.
The IDF claimed that the two Palestinians crossed the “yellow line,” the boundary separating the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza from the rest of the Strip. In one incident in central Gaza, locals told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that a Palestinian man was killed while collecting firewood and was not near the yellow line.
Footage from Anadolu shows relatives of Ahmed Abu Shawish mourning him at the morgue at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza before moving his body and burying it. “He was martyred 500 meters before the yellow line,” one relative said.
It’s unclear if the IDF referenced the killing of Abu Shawish in its statement about killing two Palestinians who allegedly crossed the yellow line. The IDF claimed the two people it killed “posed an immediate threat,” but the statement didn’t allege the slain were armed.
According to Israeli media, Israeli ministers discussed the policy of firing at anyone who approaches the yellow line last month during a security cabinet meeting, with a military official stating that any adult who crosses the line will be shot, and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urging the Israeli military to also shoot children. Defense Minister Israel Katz concluded the conversation by stating that anyone who approaches the line “should know that they may be harmed.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that since the truce deal took effect on October 10, Israeli forces have killed at least 266 Palestinians and wounded 635. Dozens of those killed were shot or bombed when allegedly crossing or approaching the yellow line.
