Despite the killing of two children, Israel claims to have targeted a Hamas element in Khan Yunis

The Israeli army claimed, on Wednesday evening, to have targeted a member of Hamas in the Gaza Strip during its attack on Khan Yunis, while its radio claimed that the attack 'was targeting a senior official in the Rafah Brigade of Hamas'.

This comes after the Israeli army killed, earlier on Wednesday evening, 5 Palestinians, including two children, and wounded others, as a result of shelling by Israeli drones targeting displaced persons' tents west of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, in a new violation of the ceasefire.

This new violation came after Israel claimed, on Wednesday evening, that 5 of its soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in clashes with Palestinian fighters who it said 'came out of a tunnel in Rafah' south of the Gaza Strip.

Commenting on this news, Netanyahu threatened in a statement from his office to escalate attacks on Gaza in response to the incident in Rafah, claiming that 'Hamas continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and commit terrorist acts against our forces'.

He went on to threaten: 'Our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate any harm to its soldiers, and will respond to it accordingly'.

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that it attacked, under the direction of military intelligence (Aman) and the General Security Apparatus (Shin Bet), and through the Air Force, a Hamas fighter in the southern Gaza Strip.

The army radio also claimed that the attack 'was targeting a senior official in the Rafah Brigade of Hamas' without further details.

Earlier on Wednesday, the official Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation said: 'The Air Force is bombing Khan Yunis after the Rafah incident and Netanyahu's threat'.

For its part, the Israeli army radio said: 'It seems that the Israeli response has begun', to what it called 'Hamas' violation of the ceasefire agreement'.

It pointed to Israeli raids in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.

Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, the mediators of the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10, in addition to the United States, tried to reach a settlement for the exit of dozens of 'Hamas' fighters from the Rafah tunnels to areas not occupied by the Israeli army.

But Israel, the occupying power in the Palestinian territories, continues its intransigence and insists on the need for their surrender, which they refused.

In a related context, Channel 12 Hebrew (private) said that Netanyahu held, following the Rafah incident, 'a meeting with the security leadership, in which they discussed the Israeli response'.

It explained that the meeting included Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and other officials in the Israeli army and the security establishment.

According to the channel, Zamir explained during the meeting that 'the incident cannot be ignored', adding: 'It is unreasonable for saboteurs to come out of tunnels they were trapped inside, and while fleeing to hideouts, they carry out operations against Israeli army soldiers in the area'.

The channel quoted an unnamed Israeli official as claiming that 'this is a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement. We are coordinating with the Americans on this issue, and we have made clear to them the seriousness of the matter'.

Earlier on Wednesday, Channel 14 Hebrew, a private channel, reported that clashes broke out between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in Rafah.

It added that the clashes broke out when 3 fighters came out of a tunnel in Rafah and fired anti-armor missiles at the Israeli forces.

It continued: 'Our forces responded by firing from attack helicopters'.

According to the channel, 'a face-to-face clash then broke out, resulting in the killing of two militants, while the third stuck an explosive device on a Namer armored vehicle and then fled back to the tunnel from which he came', without further details.

In a related context, the official Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation said that 3 fighters 'came out of a tunnel in Rafah, opened fire on Israeli army forces, and stuck an explosive device on a Namer armored vehicle'.

It added: 'The Israeli soldiers killed two of them, and an Israeli helicopter attacked the areas to which the other fled'.

For days, Hebrew media have been saying that about 200 'Hamas' fighters are trapped in a tunnel in Rafah, and Tel Aviv has not yet responded to the movement's and mediators' demands to allow them safe passage to areas under the movement's control in the Strip.

A ceasefire agreement reached under US auspices was supposed to end the war of extermination waged by Israel on Gaza, which left more than 70,000 Palestinians dead and 170,000 wounded, most of them children and women, but Israel violates it daily, killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians.