Gaza civil defence says 44 killed in Israel attacks Thursday

GAZA CITY (AFP): Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed 44 people on Thursday, including 23 in a strike on a home in the centre of the Palestinian territory.

“Forty-four people have been killed in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip,” civil defence official Mohammad al-Mughayyir told AFP.

“Twenty-three people were killed, others injured and several (are) missing following an Israeli strike on the Qreinawi family’s home east of Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.”Mughayyir also reported “two people killed and several injured by Israeli forces’ gunfire this morning near the American aid centre in the Morag axis, southern Gaza Strip.”

When asked by AFP about the strike in Al-Bureij and the gunfire near the aid centre, the Israeli military said it was looking into them.

The centre, run by a US-backed organisation, is part of a new plan for distributing aid in Gaza that Israel says is meant to keep supplies out of the hands of Hamas, but which has drawn criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.

AFP footage from Al-Bureij showed Palestinians searching through the rubble of a destroyed building.

In a statement, the military said it had struck “dozens of terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” over the past day.

“Among the targets struck were terrorists, military structures, observation and sniper posts that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area, tunnels and additional terrorist infrastructure sites,” it added.

Earlier this month, Israel stepped up its offensive in Gaza, triggered by an attack by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of some 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Out of 251 hostages seized during the October 7 attack, 57 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Mediators continue to push for a ceasefire that remains elusive.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday at least 3,986 people had been killed in the territory since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,249, mostly civilians.