Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill at least 24 in latest test of truce

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday killed at least 24 people and wounded another 54, including children, the Associated Press reported, citing health officials.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched attacks against Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip after an “armed terrorist” crossed into an Israeli-held area and shot at troops in southern Gaza without causing any casualties.

The Saturday strikes are the latest in a spate of escalating violence since the beginning of the ceasefire last month.

The Associated Press reported Israeli airstrikes killed at least 33 people in Gaza over a 12-hour period Wednesday and Thursday — mostly women and children — citing health officials. Israel said its soldiers had come under fire in Khan Younis on Wednesday. Hamas denied firing toward Israeli troops.

Reuters on Thursday reported that Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teenagers during an overnight raid on a town near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S. resolution to authorize an international stabilization force for Gaza and back the Trump administration’s peace plan. The plan envisions “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” only after Gaza redevelopment advances and the Palestinian Authority reforms itself.