Israeli strikes on Gaza a ‘dangerous escalation’

• Doha calls for concerted efforts to preserve ceasefire deal
• Israel, Hamas accuse each other of violating truce

Qatar, a key mediator in the Hamas-Israel war, yesterday condemned fresh Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, saying they threatened to upend a fragile weeks-long truce.

Qatar condemned "brutal attacks by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip... and considers them a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the ceasefire agreement," its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Doha also called for "concerted regional and international efforts to preserve and uphold the ceasefire agreement".

Earlier yesterday, a Gaza hospital said four people were killed in new Israeli air strikes. The new attacks came the morning after one of the deadliest days in the Gaza Strip since the truce came into effect on October 10, with 27 people killed, according to Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

A source at Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry, who did not wish to be identified, said artillery fire was continuing in the Khan Yunis area, reports AFP.

"These ongoing crimes represent a blatant disregard by the occupation for the ceasefire agreement," Hamas said in a statement.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said he believes the ceasefire in Gaza "is holding", telling reporters that there would be violations, but that Trump's plan, which was endorsed by the UN Security Council this week, had more support than any plan in the past. "It won't be easy," he told reporters at a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels.

a displaced Palestinian man holds the body of his child, Salem, killed in Israeli strikes, at Al‑Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: REUTERS, AFP

Meanwhile, US Senator Cory Booker and Representative Dan Goldman have called on President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to prevent settler violence in the occupied West Bank and hold perpetrators accountable.

In a letter sent Wednesday night, the Democratic lawmakers said such violence occurs "on a near daily basis" yet perpetrators are rarely held accountable, reports Al Jazeera online.

Israeli forces also carried out a mass arrest campaign in Hebron governorate for a second straight day yesterday, rounding up dozens of people in a local stadium.