Israeli strikes kill at least 44 people - Gaza rescuers

Gaza's civil defence agency has said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people today, as the Israeli military reported a rare salvo of around 10 projectiles fired from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed almost daily since Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on 18 March, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had brought relative calm to the region.

"The death toll as a result of Israeli air strikes since dawn today is at least 44, including 21 in Khan Younis," a city in southern Gaza, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

One such strike killed six people on Al-Nakheel Street in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, where a group had gathered near a bakery, Mr Bassal said. Among the dead were three children, he said.

In a statement, Hamas condemned the strike, calling it "a deliberate act of child killing" and a "confirmation of the sadistic and barbaric nature of the occupation and its fascist leaders".

Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported a rare salvo of around 10 projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel within minutes today, with most of them intercepted.

The army has recorded 10 other rockets fired at Israel over the past two weeks, with a sweeping military offensive since 7 October significantly weakening the militants' rocket-launching capability.

Israeli police said they were in the area of Ashkelon where debris had fallen following the interception, while the paramedics said a man was wounded from shrapnel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a "strong response" after the rocket fire from Gaza, according to his office.

"The prime minister instructed to deliver a strong response and approved the continuation of the intensified IDF operations in Gaza against Hamas," his office said in a statement, adding that Mr Netanyahu spoke to Defence Minister Israel Katz from his airplane as he travelled to Washington.

AFP footage captured thick plumes of smoke rising from central and northern Gaza as Israeli forces bombarded vast areas of the besieged Palestinian territory.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar ended on 18 March as Israel resumed its offensive.

'Like a nuclear bomb'

Since then, Gaza has endured relentless strikes and artillery fire, with dozens of fatalities reported on a near-daily basis.

Efforts to revive the ceasefire and secure the release of the remaining hostages have so far failed to produce any positive outcome.

The stalled efforts will be on the agenda during a meeting between Mr Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, set for tomorrow in Washington.

A strike today hit the home of the Abu Issa family in Deir el-Balah, killing women and children, according to witnesses.

"There were no wanted individuals in the house - even the men were at the mosque," said Mohammad al-Azaizeh, a resident in the area.

"They were all civilians - children, women and girls. A missile tore through every floor, flattening the house. It felt like a nuclear bomb had hit us."

AFP footage from another strike last night in Gaza City showed scenes of devastation at a local hospital, where men and women mourned over bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

"We heard the explosion and rushed to check on the children," said Umm Haytham al-Salakhi through tears, as she grieved a relative at Al-Ahli Hospital.

"I kept calling out for all our children."

The footage showed a man sobbing while cradling a relative's body, as dozens gathered to perform funeral prayers before the victims were taken for burial.

"They struck unarmed civilians while they slept," said another resident, Mohammad Rahmi, who also lost a family member in the bombing.

AFP photographs showed several men holding the bodies of children wrapped in shrouds, while rescuers transported the wounded to the hospital.

Some of the wounded, including children, were treated in the hospital's corridor as relatives gathered nearby.

Scenes from a destroyed home revealed collapsed concrete slabs and twisted metal, as children sifted through the rubble in search of salvaged belongings.

Since Israel's military resumed its offensive in Gaza last month, more than 1,330 people have been killed in the territory, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The war began after Palestinian militants attacked communities in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The overall death toll since the war erupted now stands at 50,695, according to the Gaza health ministry which is run by Hamas.