Israeli Airstrikes Kill at least 39 in Gaza City

Israeli forces killed at least 39 Palestinians in three separate airstrikes on Gaza City and the dead included a sister of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of the militant Islamist group Hamas, Gaza health officials and medics said.

Israeli tanks also pressed deeper into western areas of Rafah in the south of the enclave overnight, blowing up homes, residents said.

Two of the Israeli airstrikes hit two schools in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people, medics said. Another strike on a house in the Shati camp, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, killed 10 others.

The house in Shati belonged to the extended family of Hamas political chief Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar. One of his sisters was killed along with other relatives, family members and medics said.

Haniyeh, who leads Hamas’ diplomacy and is the public face of the group that has been running Gaza, has lost many relatives in Israeli air strikes since October 7, including three sons.

Israel’s military said its forces had targeted militants overnight in Gaza City who had been involved in the planning of attacks on Israel. The militants included some involved in holding hostages captive and some who had taken part in Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7.

The Israeli Air Force struck two structures used by Hamas in Shati and Daraj Tuffah in the northern Gaza Strip. They operated inside school compounds that were used by Hamas as a shield for its activities”, the military statement said.

Hamas denies using civilian facilities such as schools and hospitals for military purposes.

More than eight months into the fighting, international mediation backed by the United States has so far failed to bring a ceasefire agreement. Hamas says any agreement must bring an end to the war, while Israel says it will agree only to temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas is eradicated.