By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) -An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian men in Gaza on Monday as they tried to gather firewood, medics said, with no sign of progress from renewed talks on sustaining a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The three — from the same family — had left their homes to collect firewood for cooking, a daily task for many Gazans as Israel has continued to ban fuel, food, and medical goods in Gaza for over two weeks, families said.
At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, relatives rushed to pay farewell to the three white-shrouded bodies.
“My son, along with his cousins, went in the morning to collect firewood in a safe area. They were targeted – and when their cousins and others in the area came to rescue them, the drone targeted them with bombs,” said Jabr Abou Hajeer, the father of one of the victims.
In the latest bloodshed to underline the fragility of the Gaza war’s three-stage truce, medics said the men were killed near Bureij camp in the centre of the devastated Palestinian enclave by a missile fired from a drone.
The Israeli military said in a statement it struck “terrorists” operating near their forces and attempting to plant a bomb.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said the three men killed were from the same family and were collecting firewood for cooking during an Israeli ban on food products entering Gaza.
He urged Israel to stop “violations” that he said could “undermine all efforts for de-escalation”. He put the number of Palestinians killed since the January ceasefire at 150.
Israel’s military says it has repeatedly thwarted attempts by Palestinians to plant bombs or otherwise threaten their forces.
Israel’s suspension of goods entering Gaza for 16 days has increased pressure on Gaza’s 2.3 million people, most of who have been made homeless by the war. The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine, and fuel imports.
BAKERIES CLOSED
Several bakeries have recently closed and food prices are rising, while the electricity cut could deprive people of clean water.
Israel wants to extend the first phase of the ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., a proposal backed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase that was due to begin on March 2.
Israel and Hamas have been holding successive talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said on Monday that while his group was complying with the terms of the truce, Israel “seeks to foil the agreement and impose new conditions”.
On Friday, Hamas said it had agreed to release American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and four bodies of the hostages if Israel agreed to begin talks immediately on implementing the second phase of the agreement. Israel accused Hamas of waging “psychological warfare” on hostage families.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said negotiators had been instructed to be ready to continue talks based on the mediators’ response to a U.S. proposal for the release of 11 out of 59 living hostages still held, and half of the dead captives.
Gaza’s latest war began when Hamas led a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, displaced most of the population and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Aidan Lewis, William Maclean)
