AGENCIES

The Israeli military said yesterday it had killed six Palestinians in an updated toll from an exchange of fire in Gaza the day before, accusing them of violating the ceasefire in the territory.

The military said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had “killed two of six militants it had identified adjacent to its troops in western Rafah and that tanks had fired on them”. It said they were killed in an ensuing exchange of fire, including aerial strikes, while troops continued to search for the rest, reports AFP.

Under a truce that entered into force in October following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces in Gaza withdrew to positions behind a demarcation known as the “yellow line”.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump was expected later yesterday to push ahead with his phased plan for Gaza’s future by announcing the administration that will run the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, four Palestinian sources said.

Israel and Hamas in October signed off on Trump’s 20-point plan which says that a technocratic Palestinian body overseen by an international “Board of Peace” is meant to govern Gaza for a transitional period. It is not to include Hamas representation.

The 14-member Palestinian body will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, the Palestinian sources said.