Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire's latest test as hospitals say over 20 killed

Israel’s military on Saturday launched airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct.10. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 24 people killed and another 54 wounded, including children.

The Israeli strikes came as international momentum was building on Gaza, with the UN Security Council on Monday approving the US blueprint to secure and govern the territory. It authorises an international stabilisation force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

Israel has previously carried out similar waves of strikes after reported attacks on its forces. At least 33 Palestinians were killed over a 12-hour period on Wednesday and Thursday, mostly women and children, health officials said.

Palestinians, some displaced, gather to look at a destroyed vehicle targeted by the Israeli military, in Gaza City. AFP

One of Saturday's strikes targeted a vehicle, killing 11 and wounding over 20 Palestinians in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The majority of the wounded were children, director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said. Associated Press video showed children and others inspecting the blackened vehicle, whose top was blown off.

Another strike targeting a house near Al Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and wounded 11 others, according to the hospital. It said a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people including a child and wounded 16 others.

And a strike targeting a house in Deir Al Balah in central Gaza killed three people, including a woman, according to Al Aqsa Hospital.

Palestinians check the bodies of people killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip at the morgue of Al Aqsa Hospital. AP

"Suddenly, I heard a powerful explosion. I looked outside and saw smoke covering the entire area. I couldn’t see a thing. I covered my ears and started shouting to the others in the tent to run,” said Khalil Abu Hatab in Deir al-Balah. "When I looked again, I realized the upper floor of my neighbor’s house was gone."

He added: "It’s a fragile ceasefire. This is not a life we can live. There’s no safe place."

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike Gaza City. Reuters

Gaza's Health Ministry says 69,733 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 injured in Israel's retaliatory offensive. The toll has gone up during the ceasefire both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures but has said women and children make up a majority of those killed.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

Associated Press