By Anadolu staff
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israel is continuing its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip and is working to sabotage mediation efforts to broker a prisoner exchange deal, Palestinian resistance groups said Sunday.
The Coalition of National and Islamic Forces, an umbrella group, made the remarks in response to the killing of five Palestinians by Israeli artillery targeting hundreds of displaced people attempting to go back to their homes in northern Gaza, an area where the Israeli army insists on preventing residents from returning.
The coalition includes the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
''The Israeli terrorism and genocide continues against the Palestinian people everywhere, as the occupation targeted civilians this morning who were returning to their areas from which they were displaced,'' the coalition said in a statement.
It added that "many people have fallen, and some are still under fire and siege, a new crime that confirms that the Israeli occupation has violated all laws.''
The statement noted that "this crime is a clear means of obstructing and sabotaging all efforts and mediations aimed at reaching a serious prisoner exchange deal.''
The Israeli army on Sunday shelled hundreds of displaced Palestinians trying to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip.
An Anadolu correspondent reported that Israeli artillery shelling targeted hundreds of displaced Palestinians during their attempts to return to the northern Gaza Strip. There were no initial reports of casualties.
Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory for any hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.
More than 33,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 76,400 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul