GAZA (Reuters): A Palestinian farmer was killed and another injured on Sunday after they were targeted by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip’s Maghazi refugee camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, underlining the fragility of the truce between Israel and Hamas fighters.
There was no comment from Israel on the report but there were fears it could jeopardise the third phase of plans to swap 50 hostages held by the Palestinian militant group for 150 prisoners in Israeli jails over a four-day period.
A senior Palestinian source said Sunday’s phase looked “complicated”. Asked by Reuters if the farmer’s killing could delay a third batch of releases, the source replied: “I don’t know”.
Maghazi, in the central part of the Gaza Strip, is home to the families or descendents of refugees from the 1948 war over the creation of the state of Israel.
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals arrived in Israel early on Sunday after a second release of hostages held by Hamas following an initial delay caused by a dispute about aid delivery into Gaza.
Egypt and Qatar had to mediate to maintain the truce, the first halt in fighting since Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
In response to that attack, Israel has vowed to destroy the Hamas militants who run Gaza, bombarding the enclave and mounting a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 people, roughly 40% of them children, have been killed, Palestinian health authorities said on Saturday.
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