Photo: Collected
An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip has killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said Sunday, as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants and pushed for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the territory's north.
Israel is also waging an air and ground campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when.
The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.
It said another seven people were wounded, including two women and a child in critical condition. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies and filmed funeral prayers held at the hospital.
More than a year into the war with Hamas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas and other armed groups because they operate in densely populated areas.
The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children. In recent months, it has repeatedly struck schools being used as shelters by displaced people, accusing militants of hiding among them.
Messenger/Disha
