The civil defense announced on Friday the death of 15 people in Israeli strikes during the night in the Gaza Strip, where Israel recently extended its military operations almost 21 months after the start of the war with Hamas.
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According to a civil defense official, Mohammad al-Moughayyir, seven people among whom a child were killed in an air strike on tents housing displaced near Khan Younès, in the south of the Palestinian territory.
Eight people died in two other strikes, also on tent camps, on the coast near this city, he added, adding that two children were among the victims.
The Israeli army, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to declare on strikes in particular in the absence of specific contact details, but added “conducting operations, in order to dismantle the military capacities of Hamas”.
Given the restrictions imposed on the media by Israel, which besieged the Gaza Strip, and difficulties of access to the field, AFP is not able to independently check the assertions provided by the rescuers.
Civil defense announced on Thursday that 73 people had been killed by Israeli military operations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his intention to eliminate Hamas “until the root” on Wednesday, a few days before a meeting scheduled for Washington on Monday with American president Donald Trump.
The Palestinian Islamist movement announced on the same day studying “proposals” for a cease-fire, after the assertion of Donald Trump according to which Israel was favorable to a 60-day truce.
The war in Gaza was launched on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on Israel, which left 1219 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data.
Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, 27 of which were declared dead by the Israeli army.
At least 57,130 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed in the Israeli reprisal campaign in the Gaza Strip, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Hamas, deemed reliable by the UN.
