Israel shells Khan Younis

Israeli troops sprayed Palestinian homes and farmland in eastern Khan Younis with heavy machinegun fire, witnesses added.

Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told The Levant that the heavy Israeli gunfire had not led to any casualties among residents.

The Gaza Strip has recently sustained more than a month of relentless Israeli attacks that have left 1962 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 10,000 injured.

At least 67 Israelis – 64 soldiers and three civilians – have also been killed since Israel's onslaught on the embattled coastal enclave began on July 7.

A five-day, Egypt-brokered ceasefire went into effect on Thursday to give Palestinian and Israeli negotiators a chance to hammer out a permanent truce deal.

The two sides have held indirect talks in Egyptian capital Cairo, but no breakthroughs have been reported so far.