UPDATES DEATH TOLL, DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE
By Abdel-Salam Fayez and Ahmed Gouda
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 43 Palestinians, including seven children, were killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, authorities and the media said Saturday.
Warplanes struck several areas in Rafah in southern Gaza, leaving at least seven dead, according to Palestinian state news agency, WAFA, citing sources.
Fourteen were killed in an Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in northern Gaza, said one source.
An Israeli strike targeted a house in western Rafah, killing five, including three children, said WAFA. Two people were killed in another strike on a house in the city, while seven were reported to be trapped under rubble.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry said 10 people were killed when Israeli fighter jets struck two houses in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
And four children and a woman were killed in a separate strike on a house in eastern Rafah, it said.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.
Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, putting the territory’s 2.3 million residents under total siege and a blockade of food, fuel and medical supplies.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire” to ease the “epic human suffering.”
At least 4,137 Palestinians, including 1,524 children and 1,000 women have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. That figure stands at more than 1,400 in Israel.