The Gaza Civil Defense reported today that 11 people were killed, including three young children, in an Israeli airstrike carried out overnight on the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Palestinian territory, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The home of the Al-Bayram family was hit at around 3 a.m. (Bulgarian time). Among the eight victims already identified, all from the same family, are a one-year-old girl and boy, as well as a one-month-old baby, a Civil Defense spokesman said.
The Israeli army has not yet responded to an AFP request for comment on the case.
Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with “Hamas“. The war began on October 7, 2023, after an attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israel, in which, according to Agence France-Presse, 1,218 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, more than 52,400 people have been killed, most of them civilians, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave, controlled by “Hamas“. This number is considered credible by the UN, AFP notes.
Just yesterday, the Civil Defense in Gaza reported 42 deaths in new Israeli airstrikes on the strip, which has been severely devastated after a year and a half of ongoing fighting and has been under a complete blockade for more than two months.
Israel claims that the aim of the offensive is to put pressure on “Hamas“ to release the remaining living hostages and hand over the bodies of those killed. According to the Israeli army, 58 prisoners are still being held in Gaza, of whom 34 have died. “Hamas“ is also holding the body of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014.
In connection with Israel's decision on March 2 to stop all humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, the authorities claim that aid is being diverted by “Hamas“. At the same time, the UN is urging the immediate resumption of supplies, warning that the humanitarian situation in the area is catastrophic and the population is facing mass starvation.