GAZA — Israeli troops fired across the ceasefire line in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least five Palestinians, including a baby, according to a local hospital, as the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas showed further signs of strain.

The deaths occurred in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.

Israel’s military said its forces identified “a number of suspicious individuals” west of the Yellow Line — the demarcation separating Israeli-held areas from the rest of Gaza — and opened fire.

The military said the incident was under review and added that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals.”

The Yellow Line was established under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October. Despite largely holding for months, the truce has slowed amid mutual accusations of violations.

Also on Friday, a U.S. official said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff planned to host senior officials from countries mediating the Gaza ceasefire in Florida, in an effort to push negotiations into a far more complex second phase.

The first phase began in October, shortly after the two-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken that day have since been released, alive or dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,660 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants but is widely regarded by international observers as maintaining reliable records.

While the ceasefire has reduced large-scale fighting, progress toward a second phase remains uncertain.

That stage is expected to include the deployment of an international stabilization force, the formation of a technocratic governing body in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory. — Agencies