Israeli fire killed three people near a ceasefire line in Gaza on Monday, medics said, with U.S. envoys expected in Israel to try to push forward the fragile truce that faced its gravest test so far over the weekend.
A Palestinian official close to ceasefire talks said efforts by Arab mediators and the United States would be stepped up on Monday, after helping restore calm in the enclave following a day of intense bombardment that killed at least 28 people.
Israel said it launched the strikes across the enclave on Sunday in response to a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers who were operating within the agreed deployment line in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in what it described as a blatant violation by Hamas of the truce.
US TO URGE START OF SECOND PHASE OF CEASEFIRE PLAN
Despite repeated bursts of violence in the week since the truce was agreed, the U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to urge the start of the second phase of the ceasefire plan.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance was also due to visit Israel on Tuesday, Israel’s airports authority said.
Monday’s incident, in the Gaza City suburb of Tuffah, was the latest along the “yellow line” demarcating Israel’s military pullback inside Gaza from the main populated areas, stoking new fears among Gaza residents.
Local health authorities said Israeli tank fire had killed three people. The Israeli military said forces had fired at militants who crossed the yellow line to remove the threat.
Witnesses later reported Israeli tank shelling in the central Gaza Strip east of Deir al-Balah.
Gaza City residents said they were confused about where the line runs, with electronic maps available but physical markings yet to be established along most of the route.
“The whole area is in ruins. We saw the maps, but we can’t tell where those lines are,” said Samir, 50, who lives in Tuffah.
Israel’s military on Monday published video showing bulldozers towing yellow blocks into place to mark out the line.
Both Israel and Hamas have said they remain committed to the ceasefire after it broke down on Sunday. The armed wing of Hamas said it was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in contact with groups there since March.
Hamas has detailed what it said was a series of violations by Israel that it says killed 46 people and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that any Hamas militants in areas of Gaza still under Israeli control must leave immediately and that anyone remaining beyond the yellow line would be targeted without warning.
Despite an earlier threat to withhold supplies from Gaza over the brief truce breakdown, an Israeli security official said that aid convoys would continue to enter the enclave.
Trump said the ceasefire he brokered was still in place. Hamas leadership, he said, may not be involved in the violations. “We think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
-Reuters