Israel has killed 137 Palestinians since ceasefire agreement came into effect

The head of Gaza’s government media office, Salameh Maarouf, said Tuesday that Israel has killed 137 Palestinians since a ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect in January.

Maarouf said in a press statement that “the Israeli occupation has deliberately increased during the past ten days the frequency of its crimes and violations of the ceasefire agreement, the latest of which today is the elevation of 5 martyrs south of Gaza City, including two brothers bombed by drones, which brings the number of martyrs who died since the entry into force of the agreement on January 19 to 137 martyrs, including about 52 martyrs in the city of Rafah.”

“The occupation continues to put pressure on the Palestinian people and exacerbate their suffering through the crime of tightening the siege and preventing all necessities of life on the one hand, and increasing its field crimes by killing citizens in cold blood on the other hand,” Maarouf said.

“The occupation lies in its narrative that it promotes to justify the killings against unarmed civilians, including children and women, none of whom posed a threat to its soldiers, most of whom were killed while inspecting their homes near the occupation forces,” he said.