GAZA CITY: Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed five people, including four members of the same family, in the latest violence to rock the Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire.
An overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City killed four members of the al-Safadi family, including the husband, wife and their two daughters, according to the civil defence agency. It said the strike also injured 12 others.
“Around 2 o’clock, my cousins were asleep when a missile struck them. They have no connection to Hamas, nor are they involved in anything. They’re just innocent children,” said Nael al-Safadi, a relative.
Footage from the scene showed an exterior wall of the apartment blown off, exposing rubble, clothes and mattresses strewn across the shattered interior.
“I’m a civilian. I swear to God I’ve never carried a weapon or fired one. What do you want from me?” said Mohammad al-Safadi, who survived the strike.
Al-Shifa hospital said it had received one body following a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in the north of Gaza City.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, according to the territory’s health ministry.
