Israeli Gunfire Kills Seven in Gaza City, According to Rescuers

Fresh reports of deadly strikes in Gaza emerged as the Hamas-run civil defence rescue service said seven people were killed in separate Israeli attacks, while the Israeli army said three of those who died were “military operatives”.

According to the civil defence, six of the seven deaths occurred in different areas of Gaza City.

The service — which operates as an emergency rescue body under Hamas — and al-Shifa hospital said two people were killed when a drone hit a car, and another person died in a drone strike on a tent at an encampment housing displaced people.

In its account, the Israeli army said the three people it targeted were “military operatives in terrorist organizations”.

Elsewhere in Gaza City, the civil defence said “two people, a woman and a child, were killed and others were wounded when Israeli aircraft bombed a residential building”.

Health officials also reported that artillery shelling in Gaza City killed a woman.

The civil defence added that “one person was killed by Israeli fire southeast of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.”

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was checking reports concerning the other four victims.

Latest Middle East stories

The current war was sparked when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023.

Hamas has rejected Israeli allegations that Gaza’s hospitals are used for military purposes, after the army said yesterday that militants “advanced attacks from within (Kamal Adwan) hospital” in northern Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas called the accusations “criminal incitement”.

Israel’s military offensive against the Islamist group has forced nearly Gaza’s entire population from their homes and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority. The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures reliable, though they do not differentiate between militants and civilians.

Since a ceasefire was declared in October last year, the ministry says Israeli forces have killed at least 1,450 people in Gaza.

Over the same period, the Israeli military has reported the deaths of five soldiers and one civilian contractor.