9 family members killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

By Mohammed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian family of nine were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to medical sources.

The attack targeted the home of the al-Bashiti family in Maan neighborhood in Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, killing the parents and their seven children, the sources said.

The strike left the house in complete ruins and inflicted damage to nearby buildings, eyewitnesses said.

There was no prior warning before the attack on the house, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

More than 2,700 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul