9 Killed In Israeli Strikes Amid Ceasefire, Says Gaza Civil Defence Agency

Gaza's civil defence agency said nine people including journalists were killed in Israeli strikes in the north Saturday, an attack Hamas denounced as a "blatant violation" of the fragile ceasefire.

"Nine martyrs have been transferred (to hospital), including several journalists and a number of workers from the Al-Khair Charitable Organisation, as a result of the occupation targeting a vehicle with a drone in the town of Beit Lahia, coinciding with artillery shelling on the same area," civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory reported that "nine martyrs and several injured, including critical cases, have arrived at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza Strip, due to the ongoing Israeli aggression".

In a statement, the Israeli military said it struck "two terrorists... operating a drone that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area of Beit Lahia".

"Later, a number of additional terrorists collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle. The IDF struck the terrorists," it added.

After the strikes, Hamas accused Israel of violating the Gaza truce deal.

"The occupation (Israel) has committed a horrific massacre in the northern Gaza Strip by targeting a group of journalists and humanitarian workers, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

The director of Hamas-affiliated media in Gaza, Ismail Thawabteh, told AFP that local photo journalists were killed while "using a drone to capture images of a Ramadan dining table in Beit Lahia".

He said they were "directly targeted by the occupation in two air strikes, despite their work being clear".

Israel has carried out near-daily air strikes in Gaza since early March, often targeting what the military said were militants planting explosive devices.

The truce in Israel's war with Hamas, in effect since January 19, has largely held despite the attacks and with no agreement yet on extending the ceasefire.

The first phase of the truce ended on March 1, but both Israel and Hamas have refrained from returning to all-out war.

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