Israel says troops fire on gunmen in Gaza as ceasefire enters 5th day, deadly West Bank operation continues

Tel Aviv — Testing the bounds of a fragile ceasefire in its fifth day, Israel's military said Thursday that forces had opened fire in the southern Gaza Strip on masked, armed suspects who posed a threat to their safety. The Israel Defense Forces, in a statement, reported incidents east of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and in the area of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which aid trucks have been delivering more food, water and medical supplies since the ceasefire took effect. 

The IDF said it had killed one militant with the Islamic Jihad group and that while Israel remained "determined to fully maintain the terms of the [ceasefire] agreement in order to return the hostages," it was also "prepared for any scenario and will continue to take all necessary actions to thwart any immediate threat to IDF soldiers."

There was no immediate response to the incident from Gaza's Hamas rulers.