Israel breaks ceasefire with Hamas, bombs besieged Gaza

Israel has broken a shaky ceasefire with Hamas after bombing positions belonging to the group in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, as fears of a fresh conflict continue.

Israel bombed a Hamas observation post in Eastern Gaza, breaking hours of ceasefire that was brokered earlier.

No casualties were reported but the Hamas observation post was destroyed.

This comes after an Egyptian and UN-sponsored ceasefire was brokered between Hamas and Israel after one Israeli soldier and three Palestinians were killed as Israel unleashed airstrikes across the besieged enclave on Friday. 

"With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the occupation and the Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

The ceasefire that was broken by Israel was the second such  agreement between the parties in a week and came amid growing fears of a new war.

Out of the four Palestinians killed on Friday, Hamas reported that three of them were a part of the group’s military wing Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades; Shaban abu Khatar, Mohammed abu Farhana and Mahmoud Qushta, saying they were fighters. 

An Israeli army statement said shots were fired at troops during renewed protests along the Gaza border with Israel and "in response, (Israeli) aircraft and tanks targeted military targets throughout the Gaza Strip."

Palestinians mourned on Saturday when two Palestinian children were killed - and at least fourteen others injured - from Israeli rocket strikes on Gaza, the largest daylight attack on the strip since the 2014 war.

On Thursday, Hamas fighter Abdul Kareem Radwan was killed in an Israeli airstrike east of Rafah.