GAZA CITY (AFP) : Gaza’s civil defense and hospitals said Israeli attacks killed 11 people across the territory, among them three children and their parents.
A ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Hamas, but it has not halted the violence in Gaza, and efforts to secure a lasting agreement to end the war have stalled.
A family of five — three children and their parents — was killed when an Israeli strike hit a residential apartment in northwest Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas.
“The family’s only surviving member is one child, who was not inside the house at the time of the strike,” said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the agency.
Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed it had received the five bodies.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said a strike had been carried out in Gaza City on Saturday “targeting a Hamas terrorist.”
She said the military was still assessing the results.
Gaza resident Mousa Al-Aimawi said the strike came without warning.
“Suddenly, there was a missile hitting the building. No one knew, no one, no warning, nothing,” he said.
“They hit it without caring that there are civilians, children, women, girls.”
Mohammed Kali, who lives in the same building, said he saw several people lying on the ground.
“There were bodies scattered on the ground — women and children dead, and elderly people too,” he said.
AFP footage from the scene showed large sections of the building’s facade torn away, as rescue teams helped the wounded.
Onlookers picked through shattered concrete blocks and twisted metal, searching for any belongings that could be salvaged.
Three more people were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a group of civilians in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, the agency reported.
Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed it had received the three bodies.
Hours later, Bassal announced the death of a woman after “Israeli artillery shelling” struck “a tent sheltering displaced people” east of the Zeitoun neighborhood.
Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital confirmed it had received the body of the woman along with several wounded individuals, including her daughter.
Several people were wounded, and three others remain missing in the targeted area, the spokesman added.
Health officials said two other people were killed elsewhere in Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Violence has persisted despite the ceasefire.
Before Friday’s casualties, at least 1,144 Palestinians had been killed since the truce took effect last October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.
