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The Israeli military said it targeted a “terrorist cell”
belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. It
said it was aware that civilians may have been harmed in the
strike.
The Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza confirmed
the number of casualties in the strike in central Gaza, saying
people were struck at the funeral for a Palestinian killed in a
strike earlier on Friday. In that attack, which killed two
people, the Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant,
without elaborating.
Israeli fire also killed three more people on Friday, including
two women, in northern Gaza, Gaza City and Khan Younis,
according to local health officials.
The Palestinian Hamas militant group, which has fought a
bruising war with Israel, called the strike on the funeral “a
heinous crime."
Israel and the militant group agreed to a ceasefire deal in
October aimed at halting a two-year-long war.
The heaviest fighting has subsided but at least 1,123 people
have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect,
according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
The ministry, which has been part of the Hamas-led government,
maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally
reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not
give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and
children make up most of the dead.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and
Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other
violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the
ceasefire.
In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up its strikes in Gaza,
targeting people in cars, tents, buildings and on the street. It
says it is going after Hamas and other militants but civilians
have also been killed.
According to the independent monitoring group, Armed Conflict
Location and Event Data, Israel carried out 40 attacks targeting
militants in June, the highest monthly total since the start of
the ceasefire.
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken
hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more
than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the
ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
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