CAIRO: Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday (Jan 31) with some of its most intense airstrikes since the October ceasefire, killing more than 30 people including three girls from one family, in attacks on houses, tents and a police station, Palestinian health officials said.
The Israeli military said it was responding to a breach of the ceasefire the previous day, in which its troops had identified eight gunmen emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, an area in southern Gaza controlled by Israeli forces under the truce.
It had targeted commanders, weapons caches and manufacturing sites belonging to Palestinian militant group Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad, the military said.
Hamas, which retains control of just under half of Gaza where nearly all its more than 2 million residents live mainly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, said Israel had violated the truce. It did not say whether any of its members or sites were struck in Saturday’s attacks.
On Sunday, Israel is due to reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.
The war began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials have said the war could resume if Hamas does not lay down its weapons.