GAZA — Israel’s military launched a series of airstrikes across Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 24 people and wounding 54 others, according to Gaza health officials, in what has become the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said five senior Hamas members were killed in the strikes.

Israel said the attacks were a response to gunfire at its troops. The escalation came days after the U.N. Security Council approved a U.S.-backed blueprint to secure and administer Gaza, authorizing an international stabilization force, outlining a transitional authority overseen by President Donald Trump, and envisioning a potential path to a future Palestinian state.

Israel has carried out similar strikes since the ceasefire began, including attacks on Wednesday and Thursday that killed at least 33 Palestinians — most of them women and children — according to local health officials.

One of Saturday’s deadliest strikes hit a vehicle in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital.

Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said most of the wounded were children. Associated Press video showed children and residents inspecting the charred vehicle with its roof blown off.

A separate strike near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and wounded 11, the hospital said.

Another attack on a house in Nuseirat camp killed at least seven people, including a child, and wounded 16.

In Deir al-Balah, a strike on a home killed three people, including a woman, according to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

“Suddenly, I heard a powerful explosion,” said Khalil Abu Hatab of Deir al-Balah. “Smoke covered the whole area. When I looked again, I realized the upper floor of my neighbor’s house was gone. It’s a fragile ceasefire. This is not a life we can live. There’s no safe place.”

The Israeli military said an “armed terrorist” crossed into an Israeli-held zone in southern Gaza and opened fire on troops. No soldiers were injured, the army said, calling the incident an “extreme violation” of the ceasefire and noting the road used is designated for humanitarian aid.

Israel also said its forces killed 11 militants in Rafah and detained six others who attempted to flee an underground site. Separately, troops shot and killed two people who crossed into Israeli-controlled areas in northern Gaza.

Israeli forces continue to hold positions in just over half of Gaza after pulling back from several areas under the ceasefire terms.

A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, accused Israel of “fabricating pretexts to evade the agreement and return to the war of extermination,” urging the U.S. and mediators to compel Israel to adhere to the deal. Hamas did not comment on Israel’s claim that five senior members were killed.

The war erupted after the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people and abducted more than 250. Nearly all hostages or their remains have since been returned through ceasefire deals or other arrangements. Three bodies remain in Gaza.

In Tel Aviv, Israelis rallied again Saturday night calling for a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7 attack.

“The government of Israel failed in its most important mission: to protect its children, to protect its citizens,” said Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Staff Sgt. Shimon Alroy Ben Shitrit was killed that day.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says 69,733 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 wounded since Israel launched its offensive.

The toll has continued to rise during the ceasefire owing to ongoing strikes and the recovery of bodies buried under rubble.

The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run administration but staffed by medical professionals, does not differentiate between civilians and fighters; however, it says women and children constitute a majority of the dead. — Agencies