# Israeli fire kills three Palestinians in Gaza, health officials say
Israeli strikes and tank fire killed three Palestinians in central Gaza and wounded others on Saturday, according to local hospital and health officials, as violence continued despite a fragile ceasefire that has reduced but not ended fighting in the territory.
Officials at Shifa hospital said two Palestinians were killed and another person was wounded when an Israeli strike hit a motorbike in Gaza City. Israel's military said it had struck a military operative but did not provide further details about the person's identity or the circumstances surrounding the attack.
In a separate incident, tank fire killed a farmer in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah, according to officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, where the body was taken. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that death. The available reporting did not identify the farmer or explain what led to the firing.
Gaza health officials also said an airstrike near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital compound wounded three Palestinians. Israel's military said the strike targeted a Hamas commander who was planning attacks and accused him of using the area next to the medical facility as cover. It said Gaza medical authorities had previously been warned that hospitals must not be used for military purposes. The hospital did not immediately respond to that assertion.
The competing statements leave important details unresolved. Local officials reported the casualties and locations, while Israel described military targets in two of the incidents. Independent confirmation of the identities of those struck and the precise circumstances was not available in the immediate report.
A ceasefire has been in place since October, bringing an end to the heaviest phase of combat but not to lethal incidents. Gaza's health ministry says Israeli forces have killed at least 1,313 Palestinians since the ceasefire began. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in that figure. United Nations agencies and independent experts generally regard its detailed casualty records as reliable, while individual incidents can still require further verification.
Saturday's deaths underline the instability of the current arrangement. Even without the scale of earlier bombardment, strikes, tank fire and contested claims about military activity continue to put civilians and medical facilities at risk. They also complicate efforts to maintain the ceasefire and establish a more durable political settlement.
Further information from the hospitals, Israeli military or independent investigators could change the understanding of each incident. For now, the confirmed public record is limited to three reported deaths, several injuries and Israel's statements that it targeted military operatives in Gaza City and near the hospital compound.
Source note
Associated Press reporting supplied the hospital accounts, Israeli military responses and ceasefire context.
