Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza Strip, medics say

CAIRO, March 31 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip in two separate attacks on Tuesday, health officials said, in the latest violence overshadowing a fragile five-months-old U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, north of the enclave, killed at least three people earlier in the day, while another airstrike killed two others in Khan Younis, in the south.

There was no Israeli comment on either of the two incidents.

Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations of a ceasefire agreed last October. The Gaza health ministry said Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

Israel, along with the U.S., is also now engaged in a conflict with Iran, while Israeli forces have also invaded southern Lebanon in a new campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, and 251 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's two-year-long campaign has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gazan health authorities, and has spread famine, demolished most buildings, and displaced most of the territory's population, in many cases numerous times.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Editing by William Maclean)