Israeli fire kills 4 Palestinians in Gaza

CAIRO, Apr 05 (Reuters): An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health authorities said, in the latest violence to overshadow a fragile ceasefire amid a new push by mediators to bolster the agreement.

Medics said the airstrike targeted a group of people in Jaffa Street, near the Darraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing four people and wounding others.

The Israeli military said forces in the northern Gaza Strip had struck and killed members of a Palestinian militant cell who were operating near the troops, posing an immediate threat to them.

Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire agreed last October, which halted two years of full-blown war.

The Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.