RAMALLAH: On Wednesday, Israeli forces broke the fragile ceasefire with Hamas when it fired on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, reported Palestinian media Ma'an News Agency. Seven people were injured, one critically. The casualties were transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment. An Israeli military spokesperson said that the injured had been rioting, though Palestinian sources reject this explanation. Another man was shot earlier Wednesday while working in northern Gaza. According to the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire reached last Wednesday, Israeli forces are supposed to stop shooting civilians near the border fence. Palestinian media claim that Israel has broken the ceasefire several times over the course of one week. Last week, a soldier shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian man who placed a Hamas flag on the border fence. Between 12 and 20 civilians were also reportedly injured. Israel's military offensive against Gaza spanned 8 days and cost over 170 Palestinian lives in addition to inflicting over a thousand injured, many of which were civilians. Earlier this week, Hamas said it would approach Egypt to report Israel's violation of the ceasefire. Palestinian NGOs have called on the international community to investigate potential breaches of international and humanitarian law by Israeli forces in the latest bombardment of Gaza.