At least 11 killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza: Civil Defence

Amid the fragile hush of a tenuous truce, fresh violence swept across the battered Gaza Strip on Sunday, as the enclave’s Civil Defence agency reported that at least 11 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes — a revised toll from an earlier count of nine.

Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said Israeli aircraft struck multiple locations from dawn until midday, shattering the morning calm with waves of explosions. In the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood west of Gaza City, a drone strike hit a group of people, killing one man and wounding several others. Local sources identified the deceased as Sami al-Dahdouh, said to be affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement, though the group offered no immediate comment.

Further north, west of Beit Lahia, another drone strike left three people critically wounded, Basal said, underscoring the breadth of the bombardment.

Earlier in the day, two separate airstrikes claimed 10 lives: one tore through a tent sheltering displaced families in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, while another struck a gathering in Khan Younis in the south. The attacks added to the mounting toll in a territory already scarred by months of relentless conflict.

Residents reported that Israeli forces also demolished homes near the Sheikh Zayed area north of Jabalia, amid artillery barrages and bursts of gunfire. In eastern Gaza City’s al-Tuffah neighbourhood, artillery shelling echoed through the streets, deepening fears among civilians seeking refuge from the violence.

There was no immediate comment from Israel regarding Sunday’s strikes.

A day earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said its troops had identified “several armed terrorists” emerging from underground infrastructure in northern Gaza and carried out a strike that killed two and possibly others. The military described the episode as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

In response, Hazem Qassem, spokesperson for Hamas, accused Israel of carrying out “massacres” in what he called a serious breach of the truce.

Since the ceasefire took effect, Gaza’s health authorities say 601 Palestinians have been killed and 1,607 wounded. They place the overall death toll since 7 October 2023, at 72,061, with 171,715 others injured.

Despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, violence continues to ripple across the Palestinian territory, with Israel and Hamas trading sharp accusations over alleged violations. Meanwhile, tight media restrictions and limited access to Gaza have left international news organisations unable to independently verify casualty figures or report freely from the ground, leaving much of the devastation obscured behind the fog of war.

With IANS inputs