E-Paper
JD Vance says Gaza ceasefire 'holding' amid 30 deaths in fresh Israeli strikes
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violations of the peace agreement brokered by the Donald Trump administration.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that the ceasefire in Gaza was holding despite separate Israeli strikes in Gaza City and Khan Yunis that killed at least four and five people, respectively.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violations of the peace agreement brokered by the Donald Trump administration that ended the two-year-long war earlier this month.
"The ceasefire is holding. That doesn't mean that there aren't going to be little skirmishes here and there," Vance told reporters.
Vance said Hamas or “somebody else” attacked an Israeli soldier, due to which Tel Aviv was responding.
"We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an (Israeli military) soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the President's peace is going to hold despite that."
Hamas has denied responsibility for the attack that Israel said happened in Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a new wave of attacks against Hamas, asking the defence forces to conduct “powerful strikes” against the militant group in the Palestinian enclave.
Five killed in second Israeli strike in Khan Yunis
Gaza's civil defence agency said on Tuesday that at least 30 people were killed in strikes targeting several parts of Gaza.
An Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the south of the territory resulted in the death of five people.
"At least five (were killed) in an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle on Al-Qassam Street in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, told news agency AFP.
The reported second strike came just after a separate Israeli strike in Gaza City the same day.
Hamas, which had earlier said that it would hand over the remains of an Israeli hostage under the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, said that it was postponing it due to the attacks.
