GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency reported Israeli forces killed nine members of a single Palestinian family when they fired on a bus Friday.
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency operating under Hamas authority, confirmed the incident to AFP on Saturday.
Civil defence crews recovered nine bodies following the Israeli targeting of a bus carrying displaced persons east of the Zeitun neighbourhood.
Bassal identified the victims as members of the Abu Shabaan family.
He stated they were killed while trying to check on their home in the Zeitun neighbourhood.
The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted a vehicle that crossed the so-called yellow line.
Troops are stationed behind this boundary under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The military said troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle first.
It claimed the vehicle continued approaching troops in a way that caused an imminent threat.
Troops then opened fire to remove the threat in accordance with the agreement.
The ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas is now in its second week.
Several incidents have been reported since the ceasefire began.
The military says its troops fired at individuals who approached or crossed the yellow line.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza since the ceasefire.
They are searching for their homes amid vast devastation from more than two years of war.
Several Gazans told AFP they cannot locate their houses or familiar landmarks.
Entire neighbourhoods are now buried under rubble and debris from collapsed buildings. – AFP
