Gaza officials say at least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli tank fire nearly two hours after Israel and Hamas began observing a three-day ceasefire.
An Israeli Army spokesman in Jerusalem said the military was looking into the incident.
A three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip went into effect on Friday following >heavy Israel-Hamas fighting that killed 17 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers.
The ceasefire, announced by the U.S. and the U.N. hours earlier, took effect at 8. a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned there were “no guarantees” that the lull would bring an end to the Gaza war, now in its fourth week.
Israel and Hamas both said they would respect the ceasefire but would respond to attacks.
At least four short humanitarian ceasefires have been announced since the conflict began, but each has been broken within a few hours by renewed fighting.
Israel’s military said five of its soldiers were killed along the Gaza border on Thursday evening when a mortar round was fired at them.
More than >1,450 Palestinians have been killed since hostilities began July 8, according to Palestinian officials. Israel says 61 of its soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.
In the hours before the ceasefire took effect on Friday, Gaza police reported heavy Israeli tank shelling in northern and eastern Gaza, and the loud exchange of fire between Israeli troops and militants was audible throughout Gaza City. Tank shells landed on homes in the city, setting homes and shops ablaze.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the matter.
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