Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, health officials say
One strike in the northern Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature, as well as a man and a woman and their six children who were sheltering in the same building, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken.
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One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children.
Smoke from an explosion rises in the northern Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man, a woman and their two children.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report on Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded.
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It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead.
The Hamas politician killed in a strike early on Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians in 2006.
A convoy of Israeli military vehicles leaves the Gaza Strip near the Israel-Gaza border (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)
Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unravelled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. But daily, it hits homes and shelters where people are living without warning or explanation of the target.
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The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.
Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas's attack on October 7 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a gas station destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is led by medical professionals. Its count, based on daily reports from hospitals, is considered by the United Nations and other experts to be the most reliable.
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Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 months ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, fewer than half of them are believed to be alive.
Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
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