Gaza rescuers say Israeli air strike kills four in Gaza City

By AFP - Mar 11,2025 - Last updated at Mar 11,2025

Palestinian children sit on the rubble of their house as they wait to break their fast in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2025, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan (AFP photo)

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - Gaza's civil defence agency reported an Israeli air strike targeting a group of people in Gaza City on Tuesday, killing four.

"There are four martyrs... as a result of an Israeli strike on a group of citizens in the Netzarim area, south of Gaza City," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding those killed were men in their 20s. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports of the strike.

Israel's negotiating team left for Qatar Monday for talks aimed at extending the fragile Gaza ceasefire after the authorities cut the Palestinian territory's electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas.

Ahead of the negotiations, Israel disconnected the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza, a move Hamas denounced as "cheap and unacceptable blackmail".

The first phase of the truce deal expired on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that should secure a lasting end to the war that erupted with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the ceasefire deal, saying in a statement on Monday that Israel "refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling".

An Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told AFP the country's team had left for Doha. Media reports said the delegation was led by a top official from the domestic security agency Shin Bet.

Israel has halted aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock and said on Sunday it was cutting the electricity supply.