Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, including seven children from the same family, as Israel continues to bombard the already devastated territory.
At least eight people were killed in a strike on apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Pictures sent by news wires showed children among the dead and injured taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Meanwhile a family of 10, including the seven siblings, were killed in the northern Gaza town of Jabalia.
“There are 10 martyrs … all targeted by an airstrike on their home in Jabalia al-Nazla, southwest of Jabalia. All of the martyrs are from the same family, including seven children, the oldest aged six,” civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Bassal said the strike injured 15 other people.
The Israeli military told AFP it had struck “several terrorists who were operating in a military structure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area”.
“The IDF continues to precisely operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in accordance with international law, including taking measures to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians.”
It was not possible to independently verify the details of either attack as Israel does not allow foreign journalists into Gaza. Israel has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians in its assault on the occupied territory, mostly women and children. Thousands more are buried under the rubble and more than 100,000 have been wounded.
Israel in early October laid total siege to Gaza’s north, which it said was aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping there but which critics say is a deliberate attempt to empty the area of its Palestinian population.
Earlier this month, Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide, saying it had “brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell” on the strip’s 2.3 million population. This week Human Rights Watch also accused it of committing genocide, by restricting water supplies to below minimum needs.
Israel has rejected accusations that it has committed genocide or crimes against humanity in Gaza. The country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called them “false and outrageous”.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after more than a year of conflict.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Early on Saturday 14 people sustained minor injuries in Israel after the military said it had failed to intercept a missile from Yemen.
Paramedics were treating 14 people with minor shrapnel injuries and some were taken to hospital, the ambulance service said in a statement. The Israeli police reported receiving reports of a fallen missile in a town in the Tel Aviv area.
The Iran-backed group Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Thursday, Israel killed at least nine people when it launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report
