Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians, including women and children, across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hospital officials said, marking one of the deadliest days since an October ceasefire aimed at halting the fighting.
The strikes hit sites in both northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, according to hospitals that received the bodies. Among the victims were two women and six children from two separate families.
The latest violence came a day before the Rafah border crossing with Egypt is due to reopen in Gaza’s southernmost city. All border crossings into the territory have remained closed since the war began.
The limited reopening of Rafah is seen as the first significant move in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire now taking shape. Key and contentious issues in this phase include reopening borders, demilitarising the Gaza Strip after nearly two decades of Hamas rule and setting up a new governing authority to oversee reconstruction.
For Palestinians, Rafah is considered a vital lifeline, particularly for tens of thousands of patients seeking medical treatment outside Gaza, where most health facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
Despite the ceasefire progress, Saturday’s strikes underscored that fatalities continue to mount. Shifa Hospital said an early morning strike in Gaza City killed three children along with their aunt and grandmother, while the children’s mother survived.
In the south, Nasser Hospital reported that a strike on a tent camp triggered a fire, killing seven people, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect on Oct 10. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led administration, keeps detailed casualty records that are generally regarded as reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported strikes.