By Hosni Nadim
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 12 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to health authorities.
Witnesses said a fighter jet fired several missiles into a house in the Bureij refugee camp, causing several fatalities.
In a statement, the al-Awda Hospital said the bodies of 12 victims were transferred to the medical facility.
Witnesses said several children were among the victims, without giving an exact figure.
Massive damage was reported in the area following the attack as rescuers continued to search the rubble in search of survivors.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Nearly 39,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured, according to local health authorities.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar