GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli air strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, including six members of the same family, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, as violence continued despite a US-backed ceasefire.
The deadliest strike hit the home of the al-Masri family in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, killing a man, his wife and their four children while they were asleep, Gaza’s civil defence agency said. The agency said all six members of the family were killed.
Witnesses and hospital officials identified the victims as Firas al-Masri, his wife Salsabeel, and their four children. Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital said it had received the bodies and several wounded.
An Israeli military source told AFP the strike targeted “a Hamas fighter” in the area but did not provide further details.
According to BBC, the children were identified as Faryal, Salma, Amira and Naim.
AFP reported extensive damage to the multi-storey building, with its roof almost completely collapsed and signs of fire throughout the structure.
Relatives gathered at Al-Shifa Hospital as the victims’ bodies were brought in. One young girl’s body was placed in a white plastic bag before being laid alongside the others wrapped in blankets.
“The attack took us by surprise,” Ahmed al-Masri, who identified himself as a survivor of the strike, told AFP.
“I could hear the children crying out for help, yet I was unable to save them,” he said.
“My brother’s entire family was wiped from the civil registry: him, his wife and their four children.”
Ahmed said he managed to help his own children escape through a window as flames engulfed the building.
The Israeli military told the BBC that its target was a Hamas operative and that it was reviewing the outcome of the attack.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said six other people were killed in another Israeli strike on Tuesday.
Palestinian media, citing local medics, reported that four people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in the al-Samar area of central Gaza City later in the day.
Two more people were also reported killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a vehicle in the al-Zahra area, south of Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it had carried out an air strike against “several armed fighters transferring weapons in a vehicle” in southern Gaza.
UN voices concern over Gaza violence
The United Nations said Israeli military attacks had intensified in recent days.
UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva that at least 57 Palestinians were killed between July 13 and July 20 in strikes on residential buildings, a camp for displaced families and other densely populated areas.
Also Read: Israeli Strikes Kill 13 Palestinians in Gaza as Ceasefire Violations Continue
“Nine months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still, nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza,” Al-Kheetan said.
He added that 34 of those killed had died “far away” from the so-called Yellow Line marking territory controlled by Israeli forces.
Al-Kheetan warned that the continued killing of civilians raised concerns about possible violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes.
Although a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in place, it has failed to halt deadly incidents across Gaza, while efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war have stalled.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect last October.
