Gaza authorities say Israeli strikes kill three

Gaza authorities said Israeli strikes killed three people in Al-Qarara, east of Khan Yunis, on Friday, in the latest deadly attacks despite international appeals to advance a peace plan.

The civil defence agency, which works as a rescue service under Hamas authority, said the bodies of three people were recovered after Israeli strikes in the town.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis named the three dead and said they belonged to the same family. It said two were aged 42 and one was 28.

An Israeli military spokesperson told AFP the military was looking into the incident.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes also killed three people on Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted two Hamas members it accused of plotting attacks against Israelis.

Israel has continued strikes in Gaza and its forces have made further inroads despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October. Israel says it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace established by President Donald Trump to implement the deal, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that deadly Israeli strikes made it hard for people in Gaza to feel the ceasefire, which he said was still holding.

Mladenov said Hamas also had not fulfilled commitments including disarmament, although the group promised late last month to do so.

Israel has warned it will retaliate for kites flown from Gaza after several crossed into Israel. The latest kites did not contain explosives, although at least one reportedly had a political message. Israeli media quoted Defence Minister Israel Katz as saying Thursday that any launch would be treated as terrorism.