Two people have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah after Israeli tanks opened fire on Palestinians, a clinic in the coastal strip reported on Tuesday.
Two bodies were brought to the hospital after the incident, which comes despite a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas militants, who control Gaza.
Israel’s army said in a statement that troops had initially fired warning shots in the south of the strip because of a person approaching them. The suspect did not retreat, so the army fired further shots. Israel’s military did not provide any information on possible casualties.
Israel’s army also announced that it had taken action in several other locations in Gaza against suspects who posed a possible threat. According to Palestinian reports, there were no further casualties.
Meanwhile the Hamas-controlled health authority reported that six bodies had been recovered within 24 hours. In addition, one person had died during that time frame. The authority did not provide any information on the cause of death.
Some four weeks after the start of the ceasefire, bodies are still being found under the rubble of collapsed houses in Gaza. According to the health authority, the total number of people registered as dead in the Gaza war has risen to 48,291. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The information cannot be independently verified at this time.
