Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in Gaza, including women and children

The strikes came as Israel announced the first delivery of aid in weeks to the war-battered northern Gaza.

One of the strikes hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s eastern Tufah neighbourhood, killing at least six people, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Two local journalists, a pregnant woman and a child were among the dead, the ministry said. The Israeli army said the strike targeted a militant belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, offering no evidence or further detail.

Another seven people were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis where displaced people were sheltering, according to Nasser Hospital. It said the dead included two women and a child. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the blast.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said on Saturday that 11 aid trucks containing food, water and medical equipment reached the far north of the enclave, including the urban refugee camp at Jabaliya. It is the first time any aid has reached the far north of the enclave since Israel began a fresh military campaign there last month.

The announcement comes days a ahead of a U.S. deadline demanding that Israel improve aid deliveries across Gaza. Experts have said there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza.

Israel's new offensive has focused on Jabaliya, a densely populated refugee camp where Israel says Hamas had regrouped. Other areas affected by the new campaign include Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, situated just north of Gaza City.

The U.N. estimates that tens of thousands of people remain in the area. Earlier this week, the Gaza Health Ministry said that there were no ambulances or emergency crews currently operating north of Gaza City.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli army has struck several schools and tent camps, packed with tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders. The conflict has left 90% of Palestinians in Gaza displaced, according to U.N. figures.

The military has continually accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including schools, U.N. facilities and hospitals. The contesting narratives over the use of schools and hospitals go to the heart of the conflict.

In July, Israeli airstrikes hit a girls’ school in Gaza's central city of Deir al-Balah, killing at least 30 people sheltering inside. Israel’s military said it targeted a Hamas command centre used to direct attacks against its troops and store “large quantities of weapons.”

More than a year of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Israeli airstrikes kill at least seven in Lebanon

An Israeli airstrike on the southern port city of Tyre left at least seven dead, among them five siblings, three of whom were deaf and mute, officials and a resident said on Saturday.

The rise in Tyre’s death toll came as Israel’s air force carried out airstrikes on different parts of southern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday hours after Beirut’s southern suburbs were pounded by jets, destroying several buildings, state media reported.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it fired dozens of rockets on northern Israel and shot down a drone over south Lebanon. The group said that Israel’s air force struck the area where the drone crashed. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military.

The Health Ministry said the strikes on Tyre late on Friday night also wounded 46 people. It added that remains also were found in rubble and DNA tests will be used to identify the victims.

Youssef Jundi, a Tyre resident, told The Associated Press that the airstrikes destroyed several buildings in the coastal city.

He said that his long-time neighbour and friend, Ghazwa Dabouk, was among those killed. Dabouk’s sisters Elissar, Rabab and Fidaa, who were deaf and mute, were also killed in the airstrike, together with Dabouk's brother Ali, who had autism.

The Israeli military said it attacked the Tyre offices of Hezbollah’s intelligence department as well as a command and control center for the group in the city.