At least 25 Palestinians lost their lives on Wednesday after Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations across Gaza, according to health authorities cited by Reuters.
The strikes occurred in areas controlled by Hamas despite a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since October.
Medical officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis reported receiving the bodies of 17 victims, which included five women and five children.
They said four Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced families, The Guardian reported. In Gaza City, health authorities said two additional strikes killed 16 people, among them seven children and three women.
The Israeli military stated that its forces struck Hamas positions throughout Gaza after members of the group allegedly fired on Israeli troops in breach of the nearly six week old truce.
The military added that none of its personnel were injured during the exchanges.
Hamas denounced the Israeli actions as a dangerous escalation and called on the United States to honor its stated commitments by pressuring Israel to uphold the ceasefire and halt its attacks.
A US official speaking anonymously told reporters that Hamas was attempting to undermine the ceasefire instead of fulfilling its pledge to demilitarise. The official said these desperate tactics would fail.
The near daily incidents of gunfire and retaliation have underscored the fragility of the US brokered truce, the first component of President Donald Trump’s 20 point plan for a post war Gaza.
Palestinian residents say the intensity of violence makes it feel as though the two year war never paused. Officials in Gaza estimate that over 300 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began.
Medics, eyewitnesses and Palestinian media reported that all four of Wednesday’s attacks occurred well beyond an agreed upon imaginary “yellow line” that divides zones overseen by Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has carried out 393 attacks on Gaza in violation of the US brokered ceasefire. These strikes have killed 280 people and wounded 672, according to the outlet.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces also launched airstrikes on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported, citing Lebanon’s public health ministry.
Last month, the Israel Defence Forces carried out attacks that killed nine people in Gaza following what Israel described as a Hamas violation of the ceasefire deal, CNN reported.
The October 10 ceasefire in the two year Gaza war has provided some respite by allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to devastated neighborhoods.
Israeli troops have pulled back from urban front lines and humanitarian aid has entered in greater quantities.
However, the agreement has not brought a full end to violence. Israel says three of its soldiers have died since the truce took effect and that its strikes have targeted scores of fighters.