Israeli artillery units have targeted a position of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement in the Gaza Strip only hours after it was announced that the Tel Aviv regime had reached a truce with Palestinian factions in the besieged coastal enclave.
Local sources, requesting anonymity, said that Israeli forces launched three artillery rounds at an observation post east of the Zeitoun district of Gaza City on Saturday. There were no reports of casualties or the extent of damage caused.
The Israeli military later asserted in a statement that the shelling came in response to an “infiltration attempt” by a group of young Palestinian men.
On Friday, at least four Palestinians lost their lives and nearly 120 others sustained critical injuries when Israeli military aircraft and battle tanks hit targets throughout the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the “Great March of Return” began in the Gaza Strip on March 30.
A total of 14,811 Palestinians have also sustained injuries, of whom 366 are reportedly in critical condition.
The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution, which had been put forward on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with 8 votes against and 45 abstentions.
The resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.”
It also called for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.”