7 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on house in Khan Younis

By Ahmad Jouda

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least seven Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded early Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

A medical source told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that the house belonged to the Abu Elreesh family.

The injured were taken to Nasser Hospital in the city, the source added.

It said the number of victims is likely to rise as rescue teams are still unable to pull out all bodies and the wounded from under the rubble.

An Anadolu correspondent said Israeli airstrikes are still being reported across the Gaza Strip.

Over the past five days, the Gaza Strip has come under heavy and intensified Israeli bombing, leaving hundreds dead as well as large-scale destruction across residential areas.

While the Israeli army claims that it targets military installations and sites occupied by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, the Gaza-based Interior Ministry says all Israeli targets were on civilian residential areas.

Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating Israel by land, air and sea.

It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence against Palestinians.

In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas.

Nearly 1,200 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar