Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 3 children and 6 adults, health officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Saturday killed at least nine Palestinians, including three children, hospital officials said.

A strike on an apartment in the Nasr neighborhood killed at least five people, including the children between the ages of 8 and 18, said Mohammed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital where the bodies were taken. Six other people were wounded, including four children between the ages of 8 and 16, he said.

Israel’s military said it targeted Hamas infrastructure and had located Hamas militants in the area, without elaborating.

Another Israeli strike hit a group of people in the Zeitoun neighborhood, killing four and wounding another critically, health officials said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a “Hamas terrorist” and it was looking into the results of the strike.

Palestinians have reported an increase in the scale of Israeli strikes across the enclave over the past few days.

Despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October between Israel and the Hamas militant group, Israel still carries out near-daily attacks across the territory. It says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat. Hamas and Israel have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire.

At least 1,127 Palestinians, including at least 260 children, have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 73,250 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical professionals who maintain detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all deaths.

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