Gaza civil defense says Israeli forces kill 11 people
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli operations killed 11 people on Saturday in the Palestinian territory devastated by over 21 months of war.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the toll included four Palestinians killed in an air strike on the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City in the territory's north.
One other person was killed "after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid" northwest of Gaza City, the agency said.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area to wait for aid.
One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire "while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point", located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah.
Another man was killed by a drone strike near the southern city of Khan Yunis, while one was killed by artillery fire in the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, the civil defense said.
Questioned by AFP, the Israeli military said it was looking into the matter.
In a separate statement, the military said it was continuing its operations in Gaza, adding that it killed members of a "terrorist cell" which it accused of planting an explosive device targeting soldiers.
It added that over the past day the air force had "struck over 100 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip".
Bassal also told AFP that civil defense teams on Saturday recovered the bodies of 12 people in the area of the Morag Corridor north of Rafah following Israeli bombardment the previous night.
The recovery operation was conducted in coordination with the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA), he said, adding that the bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli campaign has killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Source: Agence France Presse
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