There have been several deaths according to Palestinian sources in a new Israeli strike in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The target of the airstrike was said to have been a command centre for the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in a city administration building, the Israeli military said on Thursday.
Six Palestinians were reportedly killed in the bombardment in Khan Younis, staff at a nearby hospital in the city in the southern Gaza Strip said.
According to Palestinian reports, buildings of the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry were also targets of the airstrike.
Hamas members in the affected headquarters had planned and executed attacks on Israel, the Israeli military said. The headquarters are reportedly in an area designated as a humanitarian zone.
The military asserted that measures were taken before the attack to protect civilians.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip reported 28 deaths within 24 hours in the conflict area.
These reports can not be independently verified.
Reports: Israeli airstrike in Gaza humanitarian zone kills 11
Earlier, a separate Israeli airstrike killed 11 people and injured others in the south of the Gaza Strip early on Thursday morning, according to Palestinian reports.
Israeli fighter jets struck a makeshift tent housing displaced people in the designated humanitarian area in al-Mawasi, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The Israeli military said the attack targeted and killed the leader of Hamas’ internal security forces, who was allegedly hiding in the area, adding that it had taken measures to protect civilians before the attack.
It emphasized that Hamas security forces were responsible for violently interrogating Palestinian residents and persecuting dissidents.
The information from both sides could not initially be independently verified.
The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi in the past, saying that its targets are command centres used by Hamas.
WAFA also reported that several other people had been killed in Israeli attacks in various parts of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Israel said on Thursday that extremists in the south of the coastal strip had fired a missile towards Israel, which was intercepted.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 45,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began after the Hamas-led massacre of around 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023. The figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Relatives of Palestinians, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis, mourn as the bodies are brought to Nasser Hospital for burial process. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Relatives of Palestinians, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on a makeshift displacement camp in Mawasi Khan Yunis, mourn as the bodies are brought to Nasser Hospital for burial process. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
