At least 12 Palestinians, including six members of a family, have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes.
The deadly strike hit an apartment in the western al-Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City overnight, where video footage showed the building engulfed in flames.
According to relatives, Firas al-Masri, his wife Salsabeel, and their four children were killed in the attack.
Firas al-Masri’s brother told the BBC that the family had been burnt to death inside their apartment.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas operative. Furthermore, it added that it was still examining the outcome of the operation.
UN Condemns Escalation
The United Nations human rights office criticised the recent increase in Israeli attacks.
Spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said that between 13 and 20 July, at least 57 Palestinians, including six children and eight women, had been killed in strikes on residential buildings, displacement camps and other crowded areas.
He noted that 34 of the victims were killed far from the Yellow Line, which marks territory controlled by Israeli forces.
Al-Kheetan said:
“Nine months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still, nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza.”
He also warned that the killings “raise concerns of continuing violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes in Gaza.”
Casualties Since the Ceasefire
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, at least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire came into effect last October.
Over the same period, four Israeli soldiers have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants inside Gaza.
The current war began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. One which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 hostages taken.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,290 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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