Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 17 people across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. The fatalities included five children and their parents. The strikes come just ahead of new cease-fire talks involving the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, though significant disagreements remain between the parties.
One of the strikes hit a family home late Tuesday in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp, resulting in the deaths of five children, aged 2 to 11, along with their parents, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. An Associated Press reporter witnessed the arrival of the bodies, noting that the 2-year-old had been decapitated by the explosion.
In the Maghazi refugee camp, another strike early Wednesday killed four people and injured others, as reported by the local hospital. Meanwhile, in the southern city of Khan Younis, first responders recovered the bodies of four men killed in a strike on a residential tower late Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency service.
Additionally, two people lost their lives in an Israeli strike on a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, with five others wounded, according to emergency services. Gaza’s health authorities do not differentiate between militants and civilians in their casualty reports. Israel, which says it aims to minimize civilian casualties, attributes these deaths to Hamas, accusing the group of operating within residential areas. The Israeli army rarely provides comments on specific strikes.
