The Israel Defense Force said it killed three Palestinians who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in two separate incidents in the Strip’s south on Saturday, with two of them identified as young children.

The children who were killed in the Israeli Air Force strike in Bani Suiheila, on the outskirts of Khan Younis, on Saturday morning, were named by Palestinian media outlets as brothers Juma and Fadi Abu Asi, aged 11 and 8, respectively.

Bani Suheila lies on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line, to which the IDF withdrew on October 10 as part of the Gaza truce-hostage deal.

The IDF, in a statement, confirmed carrying out the airstrike, saying that troops from the Kfir Brigade identified two “suspects” crossing the line in the Khan Younis area, carrying out “suspicious activity in the ground” and approaching the forces “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”

The IAF struck and killed them “to remove the threat,” the military said.

Their uncle said the two children were killed while “gathering firewood” to help their wheelchair-bound father.

أب فلسطيني مصاب على كرسي متحرك يحمل جثماني طفليه الاثنين اللذين قتلا في قصف من مسيرة إسرائيلية استهدفتهما خلال تواجدهما في مدرسة الفارابي ببلدة بني سهيلا شرق مدينة خان يونس

© The Times of Israel