|
Another 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up
Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which
received the casualties. Among the dead were seven children as
young as 11 months, as well as three women.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has carried out several strikes on
schools-turned-shelters in recent months, saying it precisely
targets Hamas militants hiding out among civilians. The strikes
often kill women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern
Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are
still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 42,000
Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does
not say how many were combatants but says women and children
make up more than half the fatalities. The Israeli military says
it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3
million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people
are crammed into tent camps along the coast after entire
neighborhoods in many areas were pounded to rubble.
Months of cease-fire negotiations brokered by the United States,
Egypt and Qatar sputtered to a halt over the summer. The war has
meanwhile expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground
invasion more than three weeks ago after trading fire with the
Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Qatar on Thursday as
part of his 11th visit to the region since the war began. The
United States hopes to renew the negotiations after Israeli
forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week,
but neither side has shown any sign of moderating its demands.
___
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy
in Cairo contributed.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
