At least 12 Palestinians, including six members of one family, have been killed in three separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local medics. The deaths came amid a renewed intensification of attacks in Gaza and included a family killed when their apartment was set on fire overnight in western al-Sabra, in Gaza City.
Video footage showed the family's apartment on fire overnight in the western al-Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City. The brother of Firas al-Masri told the BBC that he had been burnt to death along with his wife, Salsabeel, and their three daughters and son, Faryal, Salma, Amira and Naim.
What happened in the three strikes?
Local medics said six members of one family were among those killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment in western al-Sabra, Gaza City. The Israeli military said its target was a Hamas operative and that it was still looking into the results of the attack.
On Tuesday afternoon, another four people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a home in the al-Samar area of central Gaza City, Palestinian media cited medics as saying. Two more were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the al-Zahra area to the south of Gaza City, they added.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on those strikes.
How many people have been killed since the ceasefire?
According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, at least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect last October. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Palestinian attacks in Gaza over the same period.
What has the UN said about the latest violence?
The UN's human rights office condemned on Tuesday the recent intensification of Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Between 13 and 20 July, at least 57 Palestinians, including six children and eight women, were killed in strikes on residential buildings, a tent camp for displaced families, and other crowded areas, spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said.
Thirty-four of those people were
"killed far away"from the so-called Yellow Line, which marks territory in Gaza controlled by Israeli forces, he added.
"Nine months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still, nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza,"Al-Kheetan said. He also warned that the killing of civilians
"raises concerns of continuing violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes in Gaza".
Why has Israel intensified its strikes?
The Israeli military has recently announced a series of attacks targeting members of Palestinian armed groups, who it said were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
Israel responded by launching a massive military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,290 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry.
Key Facts
- At least 12 Palestinians were killed in three Israeli strikes in Gaza, medics said.
- Six members of the al-Masri family died in the western al-Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City.
- The UN said at least 57 Palestinians were killed between 13 and 20 July in recent strikes.
- Gaza's health ministry says more than 73,290 people have been killed since Israel's campaign began.
