By Sabiu Abdullahi
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the territory’s ministry of health, AFP reports.
The ministry said the victims included civilians who were taking shelter in a tent in the southern part of Gaza. Munir al-Barsh, the general director of the ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP that 11 people were killed and 20 others were injured “as a result of strikes carried out by the occupation targeting civilians in a tent and an apartment”.
Barsh said those wounded were taken to hospitals in Gaza City in the north and Khan Yunis in the south for medical treatment.
He also accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire agreement. According to him, Israel “continues its serious violations of the ceasefire agreement amid a severe shortage of medical supplies, medicines and medical equipment”.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run government press office said the strike on the tent in the south killed seven members of the same displaced family. The victims reportedly included a child and an elderly person.
A ceasefire brokered by the United States has been in place since October and entered its second phase in January. The phase is expected to involve Hamas’s disarmament, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force. Despite the agreement, Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.
According to the Gaza health ministry, 509 people have been killed since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
The war has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza at least once. Many residents still live in tents or makeshift shelters across the territory.
The conflict began after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,221 people, based on an AFP tally using official Israeli figures. Israel’s military response caused widespread destruction in Gaza, a territory that had already faced repeated rounds of fighting and an Israeli blockade imposed since 2007.
The health ministry said more than 71,769 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures to be reliable.