Israeli army sniper kills child, injures another in southern Gaza

An Israeli sniper shot and killed a Palestinian child Monday and injured another in central Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

The child, Zakaria Hamid Yahya Barbakh, was killed near Al-Awda Square in central Rafah when Israeli forces opened fire. Another child was injured while attempting to retrieve Zakaria's body, it said.

Two Palestinians, including a child, were killed, and nine others, among them children, were injured earlier by Israeli gunfire in Rafah, according to reports.

A Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Sunday, with the first phase set to last 42 days, during which negotiations are to take place on the second and third phases, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the US.

Under the agreement, Hamas released three Israeli women in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were women and children.

Nearly 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 110,700 injured in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.