Israeli Strikes Kill 11 in Gaza

Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 11 people on Saturday, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, with casualties reported in both the north and south.

Munir al-Barsh, the ministry’s general director, stated that 11 people were killed and 20 others wounded after strikes targeted “civilians in a tent and an apartment.” The wounded were taken to hospitals in Gaza City and Khan Yunis.

The Hamas-run government press office specified that one strike on a tent in the south killed seven members of a single displaced family, including a child and an elderly person.

The health ministry accused Israel of continuing “serious violations of the ceasefire agreement” amid critical shortages of medical supplies.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which began in October and entered a second phase in January, has been repeatedly undermined by mutual accusations of violations between Israel and Hamas. The agreement outlines a path toward Hamas’s disarmament, a phased Israeli withdrawal, and the deployment of an international force.

According to the health ministry, 509 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire first took effect on October 10. The broader war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has resulted in over 71,769 deaths in Gaza, according to ministry figures which the UN considers reliable.

The conflict has displaced nearly the entire population of the besieged coastal territory, with hundreds of thousands still living in tents and makeshift shelters.