Reuters reported on October 20 that health officials in the Gaza Strip said that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire during various incidents in the Gaza Strip resulted in at least four Palestinian deaths, including a married couple and a 17-year-old boy.
Medical personnel reported that Israel carried out an air strike on an apartment in Gaza City, killing Akram Yasin and his wife Dina Abu Bakr.
Israeli military issued a statement hours later stating that “Azzan is a senior official of Hamas’s overall security agency in the Gaza Strip.” The Israeli army said that this agency is responsible for protecting Hamas’s senior officials.
In the southern Hebron area, healthcare workers reported that a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the Qizan Najjar district. An additional person was killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City's nearby town of Sheikh Jarrah. This brings the death toll to at least four on Tuesday.
Palestinians were at the scene of the attacked apartment in Gaza City, and then gathered to attend the funeral of the couple.
"We should be in a period of ceasefire, but to tell you the truth, we can't see a ceasefire. We can't even see any similar situation. The war is still ongoing, assassinations are still continuing, and artillery hasn’t stopped." Said Mahamadou Yasin. His brother died in the attack.
Israel said that the Hamas militant group has been "violating the ceasefire agreement, rearming and launching attacks," and has increased its efforts to combat the group in recent weeks. Hamas denies trying to launch attacks or rebuild their weapons arsenal, and accuses Israel of destroying the peace agreements in Gaza.
A cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States a year ago called for the eventual reconstruction of the region. However, the agreement aimed at ending the conflict has made little progress in implementation; the agreement includes provisions such as Hamas disarming and Israeli troop withdrawal.
Wadi al-Shila health officials state that at least 1,500 Palestinians have died in Israeli fire since the ceasefire began. Israel claims that four IDF soldiers were killed by armed militants during the fighting.
