Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 Palestinians, including a mother and her two children who were in a tent, according to local medical officials.
Israel ended a temporary truce and resumed its offensive in March, declaring its intent to destroy Hamas and return the 58 hostages it has held since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Israel also blocked all food, medicine and fuel from entering the country for two and a half months before allowing small amounts of humanitarian aid through last week.
Israel says it plans to take full control of Gaza and facilitate what it calls the voluntary migration of most of its two million Palestinians, a plan that has been rejected by both the Palestinians and much of the international community and that experts say likely violates international law.
The strike hit a camp for displaced persons in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah, killing a mother, her two children and another relative, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital.
The strike in the northern Gaza region of Jabaliya killed at least five people, including two women and a child, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Five more people were killed in subsequent attacks, according to local hospitals.
Israel says it is trying to avoid harming civilians and blames the deaths on Hamas, which operates in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment from the military on the latest attacks.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and kidnapped 251. They are currently holding 58 people, about a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the remainder were released in ceasefires or other deals.
The 19-month Israeli offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, but it has not provided figures on the number of civilians or fighters killed. The offensive has devastated large swathes of Gaza and displaced about 90 percent of the region's population.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
