Israeli Air Strikes in Gaza City Kill At Least 11

Israeli air strikes across Gaza City killed at least 11 Palestinians, including women and children, amid ongoing escalation despite a ceasefire, with both sides reporting continued casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions.

At least 11 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed and dozens more injured in Israeli air strikes across Gaza City, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.

The strikes, carried out early on Thursday, reportedly involved at least three Israeli helicopters targeting four residential buildings in the Sheikh Radwan and Tel al-Hawa areas, as well as the Shati refugee camp. The attacks caused powerful explosions, according to reports shared with the BBC.

Social media videos said to show the aftermath depicted people attempting to escape a burning building in Shati camp.

The Israeli military said the strikes killed four senior members of Hamas’s General Security Apparatus. It named them as Hassan Labad, the deputy head of the apparatus, along with Asim Shubair, Abdullah Abu Kaloub, and Mohammed Abu Marq.

Local sources reported that one of the strikes targeted Labad, who was killed along with his wife and three of his children. A spokesman for the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said the dead also included two children with disabilities from the Labad family and three women.

Israel has continued carrying out air strikes in Gaza despite a US-brokered ceasefire deal, saying Hamas is rebuilding and rearming its forces.

More than 940 people have reportedly been killed since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Meanwhile, attention remains focused on wider regional conflicts, while Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis and reports suggest Israel is considering expanding the area under its control to 70%.

The Gaza war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 72,950 people have been killed, according to the territory’s health ministry.