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LAST UPDATE | 29 Jun
GAZA’S CIVIL DEFENCE agency said Israeli air strikes and gunfire killed 23 people in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on Sunday, including at least three children.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that his services “transported 23 martyrs, including several children and women” killed in various locations around the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military told AFP it was not able to comment on the reported incidents but said it was fighting “to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” in a campaign launched in 2023 against the Islamist militant group.
Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP, along with many other outlets, is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.
Bassal said two children were killed in an air strike on their home in Gaza City’s Zeitun neighbourhood in the early morning, and “the house was completely destroyed.”
A member of the family, Abdel Rahman Azzam, 45, told AFP he was at home and “heard a huge explosion at my relative’s house”.
“I rushed out in panic and saw the house destroyed and on fire,” he added.
“We evacuated more than 20 injured people, including two martyrs – two children from the family. The screams of children and women were non-stop,” Azzam said.
“They bombed the house with a missile without any prior warning. This is a horrific crime. We sleep without knowing if we will wake up.”
Elsewhere, Bassal said a drone strike on a tent housing displaced people near the southern city of Khan Yunis killed five people including a child.
He said that other casualties included a young man killed “by Israeli fire this morning while waiting for aid” near a humanitarian distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah.
The Israeli military issued an evacuation order on Sunday for parts of Gaza City and nearby areas in the territory’s north, warning of imminent action there.
The military “will operate with intense force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand… to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organisations”, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement posted on X.
He told residents to “evacuate immediately south” to Al-Mawasi area on the coast.
Israel launched its offensive in October 2023 in response to the deadly Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,412 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.
After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages.
Yesterday, at least 72 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, the health ministry there said.
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