Gaza's civil defence agency says 3 killed in Israeli strike

Gaza City: Gaza’s civil defence agency said Tuesday that an Israeli strike killed three people in the Palestinian territory overnight, with Israeli warplanes seen soaring over the region after the assault, according to AFP journalists.

Despite an October 10 ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Hamas accuses the Israeli military of breaching the truce.

“Three people were killed as a result of an Israeli strike at midnight in the vicinity of the Al-Zaqzouq junction in Al-Amal neighborhood, northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip,” spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

Israel and Hamas regularly accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, which came into effect after two years of war triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 cross-border attack.

More than 770 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the truce.

Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s incoming prime minister Peter Magyar said Monday the country will execute International Criminal Court warrants against anyone, after he invited Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu — wanted under just such a warrant — to Budapest later this year.

In 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes — including starvation as a method of warfare — in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Hungary’s outgoing nationalist leader Viktor Orban announced last year that his country was withdrawing from the ICC, after meeting with Netanyahu in Budapest. The withdrawal was due to take effect by June 2 this year.

Last week Magyar made clear he wants Hungary to reverse that decision — but he also invited the Israel premier to visit Budapest again in October, according to an Israeli readout of a call between the two leaders.

Asked by a reporter to clarify, Magyar said he issued invitations to all prime ministers and presidents he spoke on the phone for the 70th anniversary of Hungary’s anti-Soviet uprising of 1956.