Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 27 people on Wednesday, according to local authorities, with Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas accusing each other of violating the fragile ceasefire.
It is one of the bloodiest days in Gaza since October 10, and the entry into force of the ceasefire imposed by the United States after more than two years of war.
Israel conducted airstrikes on Wednesday in southern Lebanon after issuing evacuation calls. The Israeli army stated that it is targeting the Islamist movement Hezbollah, accusing it of rearming and violating the ceasefire in place at its northern border for almost a year.
"The bombings and killings have resumed. They don't even give us time to breathe," complains Ahraf Abu Sultan, 50, to AFP, who has just returned to the city of Gaza to repair his destroyed house after being displaced for a year in the southern territory.
"There is no hope for life in Gaza," says Nivine Ahmed, also displaced in a tent in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, evoking the sound of explosions, smoke, people running, and ambulance sirens.
"We can't take it anymore, we want the war to end completely or for the crossings to be opened to allow the population to flee," said Noha Fathi, displaced in southern Gaza.
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According to the Civil Defense in Gaza, a first aid organization operating under the authority of Hamas, 14 people were killed on Wednesday in the city of Gaza and 13 in the Khan Yunis region. Two hospitals contacted by AFP confirmed this toll.
Over 300 Palestinians killed since October 10
The Israeli army stated that it "struck Hamas terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in response to gunfire "towards the area where its soldiers operate in Khan Yunis." This gunfire did not cause any injuries, the army clarified, but it constitutes "a violation of the ceasefire agreement."
Rejecting a "feeble attempt to justify (...) violations that never cease," Hamas denounced a "dangerous escalation" and called on the United States to "exert immediate and serious pressure to (force Israel) to respect the ceasefire."
The ceasefire has already been marked by several outbreaks of violence in Gaza.
Since October 10, over 300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks or gunfire, according to the Gaza Health Ministry under Hamas authority.
The Israeli army claims to only attack in response to ceasefire violations. The deadliest Israeli raids killed over a hundred Gaza residents on October 29, according to the Civil Defense and data collected by AFP from five hospitals.
According to the Civil Defense, which never mentions the number of combatants killed, Wednesday's bombardments killed a couple and their three children in the city of Gaza, as well as two minors in Khan Yunis.
The organization's spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal, appeared in a video showing the bodies of three young children.
Over 69,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN, does not specify the number of combatants killed, but its data indicates that over half of the dead are minors and women.