Israeli strikes kill 12 overnight in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes on homes in central Gaza killed at least 12 people including children, Palestinian hospital workers said on Wednesday, including two young brothers whose bodies arrived in pieces.

Israel has been striking homes, shelters and public areas daily since resuming the war with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory’s 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, for nearly two months. UN food stockpiles have run out and aid groups say thousands of Palestinian children are malnourished.

Israel says its blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken on Oct 7, 2023. However, the UN high commissioner for human rights warned this week that starving civilians as a military tactic constitutes a war crime.

Anas El Din Hegazy holds the body of his young brother, who was killed in an Israeli army airstrike on a tent in Gaza City. AP

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry, including more than 2,200 in the six weeks since Israel shattered the ceasefire. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks which started the war.

The United Nations humanitarian office describes severe shortages of food, water and medicine as medical services collapse and charity kitchens shut down.

The agency, known as OCHA, said Wednesday it will give out its last five dozen emergency shelter kits in the next few days - kits that don't include tents.

The UN Population Fund says all of its shelter materials, hygiene items and menstrual hygiene kits have been completely depleted.

OCHA said only seven hospitals and four field hospitals are still providing obstetric and newborn care for families in Gaza, where more than 2 million people live. Meanwhile, hospitals report that cases of malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women are rising sharply, and most newborns are now being born underweight.

Associated Press