Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Kill 8, Hamas Accuses Israel of Violating Ceasefire

Xinhua News Agency, Gaza, May 26 (Reporter Zhao Weihong, Huang Zemin) The Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes on the central and southern Gaza Strip on the 26th, resulting in at least 8 Palestinian deaths and multiple injuries. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire and continuing to escalate military actions.

Sources in the Gaza Strip told Xinhua reporters that an Israeli drone fired missiles at a white jeep in the western area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza that afternoon. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defense, confirmed that the airstrike resulted in two deaths and four injuries; shortly thereafter, the Israeli military conducted an airstrike on the town of Zawida in central Gaza, resulting in one death.

Earlier that day, Israeli airstrikes on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza resulted in five deaths.

Hamas issued a statement saying that Israel's actions once again demonstrate its deliberate destruction of the efforts of the mediators of the ceasefire agreement, "continuously escalating killings, hunger, and siege actions."

Hamas also accused Israel of insisting on implementing the so-called "Orange Line" in the Gaza Strip, which is a "blatant and ongoing violation of the ceasefire agreement," aimed at consolidating military control over the Gaza Strip. Hamas called on the mediators and guarantors of the agreement to clarify the issue of the "Orange Line," publicly condemn Israel's actions, and demand that Israel immediately withdraw the relevant measures.

On the 14th of this month, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the Israeli military had controlled about 60% of the Gaza Strip. This is the first time the Israeli government has officially confirmed that the military has changed the withdrawal line from the "Yellow Line" to the so-called "Orange Line," advancing the military control area into the interior of the Gaza Strip.