UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE
By Hosni Nedim
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 15 people, including children, were killed and others injured on Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes in the southern and central Gaza Strip, witnesses and a medical source said.
Israeli fighter jets hit a house in al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, leaving eight people dead, including children, the source said.
One person was also killed and several people were injured in another strike near a tent encampment in al-Mawasi, which was designated by the Israeli army as a “safe zone” for displaced civilians in Gaza, it added.
Witnesses said the airstrikes have caused widespread panic, particularly among women and children.
In a third attack, several Palestinians sustained various injuries in an Israeli airstrike targeting a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area, the Gaza Civil Defense reported.
Wednesday’s attacks add to the toll of thousands who have died in this area, where living conditions are minimal.
Five more Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering of civilians in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, witnesses told Anadolu.
Israel has continued its devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023. The onslaught has killed more than 43,700 victims and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio and Rania Abu Shamala