Two Palestinians Killed by Israeli Fire in Rafah and Khan Younis Amid Ongoing Ceasefire

Two Palestinians Killed by Israeli Fire in Rafah and Khan Younis Amid Ongoing Ceasefire

Cairo, March 4 - At least two Palestinians were killed and three others injured by Israeli gunfire in Rafah and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. This has raised concerns about the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, as Israel has imposed a complete blockade on Gaza.

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which began in January, ended over the weekend without any agreement on what will happen next. Hamas claims that the second phase should begin, leading to Israel’s permanent withdrawal and the end of the war. However, Israel has only proposed a temporary extension of the ceasefire until April, in exchange for Hamas releasing more hostages, without any immediate talks on Gaza's future.

On Monday, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that Israel’s demand to extend the first phase of the ceasefire has set progress back to zero. He said, "Mediators and guarantors must take full responsibility to prevent (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu from sabotaging all efforts to reach the agreement and ensure that the agreement does not collapse."

Meanwhile, in Washington, a State Department spokesperson stated on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will return to the region in the coming days to discuss either extending the first phase of the ceasefire agreement or moving on to the second phase.

In this context, Israel imposed a complete blockade on all supplies to Gaza on Sunday, including food and fuel, making life even more difficult for the 2.3 million people living in Gaza after 15 months of conflict. Hundreds of trucks carrying supplies, headed for Egypt, were denied permission to enter Gaza. Residents in Gaza reported that stores were quickly emptied, and the price of a sack of flour doubled overnight.

Salah al-Hajj Hassan, a resident of Jabalia in northern Gaza, said, "Where will our food come from?" He added, "We are dying, and we don’t want war or the alarm bells of displacement or starving our children."