Gaza, April 13 (IANS) At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Civil Defence, told Xinhua news agency that seven people died in an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle, six of them from the same family.
Several others were wounded and taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, he said.
Eyewitnesses reported that an Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at the vehicle, igniting it and causing multiple casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Israeli military has not issued a statement regarding the incident.
In a separate attack, Basal said an Israeli airstrike on the Deir al-Balah municipality building killed three more Palestinians.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israeli forces, in coordination with the Shin Bet security agency, had targeted a “Hamas command and control centre” operating from the area.
He said a large number of Hamas operatives involved in attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians were present at the site during the operation.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health authorities said on Sunday that 1,574 Palestinians have been killed and 4,115 wounded since Israel resumed its military operations in the enclave on March 18.
They added that the total death toll since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, has risen to 50,944, with 116,156 others injured.
On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the military planned to expand its offensive as it completed the takeover of “Morag axis” between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis. The corridor is part of what he calls “the Israeli security zone”.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza condemned the strike, saying it led to the “forced evacuation of patients and medical staff”.
Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Aid agencies and the UN said that only few of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional.
“The health system in Gaza is overwhelmed by the influx of casualties and rapidly depleting essential medicines and supplies due to the blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza for over a month,” the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said in a Tuesday report.
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