Gaza ceasefire tested as Israeli forces kill five Palestinians

Israeli troops redeploy in Gaza according to agreed deal, but clashes and killings threaten stability of the ceasefire.

At least five Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza City, medical sources told Al Jazeera, despite a ceasefire agreed between Hamas and Israel.

Sources from al-Ahli Arab Hospital in told Al Jazeera Arabic on Tuesday that Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City.

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The Israeli military said it opened fire to remove a threat posed by people who approached its forces in northern Gaza.

It said soldiers fired against “suspects” who were “crossing the yellow line” – the line to which Israel’s military pulled back under the ceasefire deal that took effect on Friday – and were approaching soldiers in breach of the agreement.

Will the ceasefire last?

Hamas and Israel agreed last week to cease hostilities and return all remaining Israeli captives – dead and alive – in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The first phase of the agreement should also see a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops. The first step is to relocate soldiers away from the front line to the yellow redeployment line.

According to a rough map shared by United States President Donald Trump, the yellow line leaves about 58 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, as verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad team.

That points to the uncertainty contained in the ceasefire plan’s initial phase, not to mention the lack of details regarding future phases, which are meant to include the reconstruction of Gaza and eventually a Palestinian state.

The Israeli government has made no pledge to fully pull back its forces from the enclave, and the White House’s document states Israel may maintain a presence in a buffer zone until there is no “resurgent terror threat” – a loophole that experts said gives Israel margin to remain indefinitely.

The Shujayea district is one of the previously populous areas where Israeli forces will remain.

Tuesday’s killings underscore the challenges ahead to keeping the ceasefire on track as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been displaced multiple times throughout the war try to return to their homes.

An Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground said gunfire could be heard on Tuesday morning as Israeli troops opened fire at people nearing their positions.

Other thorny issues that have not yet been addressed and could endanger the ceasefire include the disarmament of Hamas, which is a red line for Israel that the Palestinian group has not fully committed to.

That could prove even more challenging as tensions between Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups within Gaza – often claimed to be supported by Israel – are brewing.

On Sunday, the enclave’s Ministry of Interior said at least 27 people, including eight members of Hamas, were killed in clashes between an armed clan and Hamas security forces.

According to Palestinian media, further such clashes were also under way on Tuesday.