GAZA STRIP: An Israeli strike killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinian authorities said, as Israeli military operations continued across the territory.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas commander who “was hiding within the compound” of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, but was unable to immediately confirm if he had been killed.
It said the commander, who it did not name, advanced “attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians” and was hit in a structure adjacent to hospital buildings.
The hospital said three people were injured in an Israeli strike near a warehouse close to the maternity ward inside the medical facility.
Earlier, Al-Aqsa Hospital reported that one person was killed by Israeli fire in the eastern part of the city. The Israeli military said it was investigating the report.
In Gaza City, the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service, said an Israeli strike near a roundabout in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood killed two people and wounded several others.
Israel has kept striking Gaza and its forces have made further inroads despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October, with Israel insisting it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed at least 1,313 people since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry’s casualty figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Israel killed over 21,500 Gaza children
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Gaza children have suffered a devastating toll during Israel’s war on the enclave, with more than 21,500 killed since October 2023, while Israel has targeted 1,244 mosques,
The office said on Monday that 1,077 of Gaza’s 1,275 mosques had been completely destroyed during Israeli military operations, leaving only a fraction of the territory’s places of worship untouched.
The Israeli military has systematically targeted civilians, residential buildings and religious sites throughout the conflict.
Gaza children among thousands killed
According to figures cited by the media office, more than 21,500 Palestinian children have been killed since the war began in October 2023.
The authorities said the overall Palestinian death toll has exceeded 73,000, while more than 174,000 people have been injured during the Israeli offensive.
The media office condemned attacks affecting civilians, particularly children, and called on international mediators to pressure Israel to comply fully with the ceasefire agreement and halt what it described as violations.
