Gaza civil defence reports 37 killed by Israeli forces, including children
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 37 people in the devastated territory on Saturday, including at least nine children who died in strikes.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP 35 people were killed in seven Israeli drone and air strikes in various locations, and two others by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza.
He said the dead included three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
Bassal said at least six more children died in a neighbourhood in the northeast of Gaza City, including some in an air strike near a school where displaced people were sheltering.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment by Saturday evening.
As international criticism mounted over civilian deaths in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Saturday that his country 'stands ready, Europe as well, to contribute to the safety of food distribution' in Gaza.
Such an initiative, he added, would also deal with Israeli concerns that armed groups such as Hamas were intercepting the aid.
Barrot did not provide any details on how France could help secure aid distribution to Gaza's civilians.
Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.
AFP images showed mourners weeping over the bodies of seven people, including at least two children, wrapped in white shrouds and blankets at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
Video footage filmed from southern Israel showed smoke rising over northern Gaza after blasts.
Other AFP footage filmed in Gaza City showed a cloud of smoke rising from buildings after a strike.
In Jabalia, an AFP photographer saw civil defence rescuers aiding a man with blood on his back.
- Gaza ceasefire drive -
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in October 2023 in response to a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on June 24, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages.
Qatar said on Saturday that it and fellow mediators the United States and Egypt were engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from the ceasefire with Iran and work towards a Gaza truce.
'If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost amongst many in the near past. We don't want to see that again,' said Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,412 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.
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