Gaza Bleeds: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four Palestinians

(MENAFN) Four Palestinians died Saturday when Israeli forces struck a civilian vehicle on Gaza City's coastal highway, shattering the already precarious ceasefire arrangement, according to a medical official who spoke with media.

The deadly strike targeted a car traveling along the Al-Rashid coastal road in western Gaza City, the source confirmed, with multiple others sustaining injuries in the assault.

Israeli military officials justified the operation by claiming it eliminated senior Hamas operative Raed Saad during the Gaza City attack. Military spokespeople confirmed Saad's death in an official statement released following the strike.

Army Radio had previously characterized Saad as Hamas's "second-ranking figure" throughout the Gaza Strip. The broadcaster reported Saad was inside the vehicle when forces engaged it in western Gaza City.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz defended the operation, asserting the Hamas figure was eliminated as retaliation for a bomb detonation that wounded two Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.

Hamas condemned the attack as a "criminal violation of the ceasefire agreement, which was signed in accordance with the plan of US President Donald Trump."

"This crime once again confirms that the occupation is deliberately seeking to undermine and sabotage the ceasefire agreement by escalating its ongoing violations," the organization stated.

The group urged mediators and nations backing the agreement to fulfill their responsibilities concerning "these blatant violations" and implement immediate measures "to restrain the fascist occupation government, which is reneging on its obligations under the agreement and seeking to undermine and destroy it."

Israeli forces have systematically breached the ceasefire terms, resulting in no fewer than 386 Palestinian deaths and 1,018 wounded since the accord became effective October 10.

Since October 2023, Israel has eliminated more than 70,300 individuals—predominantly women and children—while wounding over 171,000 throughout Gaza in military operations that persist notwithstanding the truce arrangement.

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