(MENAFN) Five Palestinians were killed and several others injured in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, marking a new violation of the ceasefire agreement, medical sources told reports.

Two children were among those killed when the attacks hit tents sheltering displaced civilians in a refugee camp in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, the sources added. Several tents caught fire following the strikes, according to reporters on the ground.

The attacks came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that he would “respond accordingly” to the injury of soldiers in clashes with Palestinian fighters in Rafah.

Early Wednesday, the Israeli army reported that five soldiers were injured in a firefight with Palestinian fighters who allegedly emerged from underground tunnels in eastern Rafah. The military claimed that the airstrikes targeted a senior Hamas official in the area.

Israeli media reported that around 200 Hamas fighters remain trapped in underground tunnels in Rafah. Tel Aviv has yet to respond to demands from Hamas and mediators to allow these fighters safe passage to areas under the group’s control.

Hamas condemned the strikes in Khan Younis as “a blatant war crime, a disregard for the ceasefire agreement, and a flagrant attempt to evade Israel’s obligations.” The group held Israel fully responsible for the consequences of the escalation and called on mediators and guarantor countries to compel Netanyahu and his government to halt its “crimes” and honor the agreement.

Hamas previously stated that it has no contact with the fighters trapped in Rafah and affirmed that it has fully complied with the ceasefire, which went into effect on October 10.

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