Israeli strikes leave 17 Palestinians dead in Gaza
GAZA CITY : Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 17 people in the Palestinian territory today, as Israel's military said it was pressing on with its operations against Hamas fighters.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people – including a pregnant woman – were killed in a single strike at 2am in Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood.
Two others died in separate strikes in the city, three in the southern town of Bani Suheila, and four near a food distribution centre in central Gaza, he added.
Israel's military said troops were 'deepening their operational activity' in the Gaza City area and the north, including the Jabaliya area.
'Over the past day, the troops dismantled dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites and located weapons in the southern Gaza Strip,' a statement read.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
Hundreds of people have been killed while trying to reach or waiting near aid distribution centres in central Gaza near the Wadi Gaza river.
The centre is run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which started distributing food in late May after Israel lifted a full blockade.
Over 100 humanitarian groups warned that the trickle of aid entering Gaza is causing widespread hunger, while the head of Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital said yesterday that 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation over the past three days.
GHF and Israel argue that food and aid are entering Gaza but that the UN and other NGOs cannot deliver them to Palestinians.
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