Gaza's civil defence, medical sources say Israeli strikes kill two / Photo: © AFP
Gaza's civil defence, medical sources say Israeli strikes kill two
Gaza's civil defence agency and medical sources said Israeli strikes in the Palestinian territory on Saturday killed two people and significantly damaged a hospital's medical supply warehouses.
The Israeli military said, meanwhile, that it had struck five Hamas weapons depots in the Gaza Strip.
The strikes come a day after Hamas said it had agreed to a deal to end the war with Israel that includes provisions for handing over its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Israel has yet to officially comment on the agreement, but a political source has told AFP "that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever" without Hamas's "genuine disarmament".
On Saturday, Al-Shifa Hospital reported receiving one body and several injured people following an Israeli drone strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "aware of one strike in the area on a Hamas terrorist".
In a statement, the military also said that it had struck several areas across Gaza and dismantled five Hamas weapons storage facilities.
In Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Al-Aqsa Hospital reported receiving one body and several injured following a separate Israeli drone strike.
In that incident, the Israeli military also said it had struck a Hamas military operative.
It later said that it had struck a weapons storage facility "located adjacent to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah", which it said had been "used as a hideout by Hamas terrorists".
Israel has throughout its war with Hamas accused the militants of using civilian infrastructure to conceal fighters and weapons, and to stage operations.
For its part, Gaza's civil defence agency reported "extensive damage" on a storage facility for what it said were medicines and medical supplies belonging to Al-Aqsa Hospital.
The Palestinian health ministry condemned "the heinous crime committed by Israeli occupation forces" which it said had "obliterated two of the four warehouses... and caused severe damage to the remaining two".
It also said the strike had significantly damaged the adjacent outpatient clinic building.
"Vital quantities of medical consumables and supplies intended for the care of patients and the wounded were lost or destroyed," it added.
Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.
- 'I hope the war ends' -
AFP footage from the site showed a huge crater in the ground, next to which dozens of Palestinians sifted through what appeared to be medical supplies that had been scattered by the blast.
Jaber Abed, 33, said he and his family had fled their tent next to the hospital at dawn.
"I hope the war truly ends and that we can live like human beings," he told AFP, but added he was not hopeful that Israel would implement the ceasefire agreement without pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP on Saturday that "the ball is currently in the Israeli occupation's court" and called on mediators to "pressure Israel to halt violations and breaches of the ceasefire".
(S.A.Dudajev--DTZ)
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