Israeli strikes kill three people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the territory’s health officials said. Medics said two people were killed and six others wounded in two separate airstrikes in Khan Younis, south of the enclave, while a third person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Al-Mussadar. The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on any of the attacks. Israel, which says the Hamas militant group has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks. Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and ​accuses Israel of undermining ​the Gaza peace ⁠deal. Last year’s US-brokered ceasefire calls for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made as negotiators have ​failed to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or Israel ​to withdraw ⁠its troops, who control about two-thirds of the territory where they have ordered residents out. Nearly all of the more than 2 million residents live in the remaining third of the enclave among war ruins, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, still under effective control of Hamas. At least 1,580 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory’s health officials, while Israel says four ⁠soldiers have ​been killed. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 ​people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people ​in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.