Israeli airstrikes killed 12 Palestinians including a mother, 3 children
Monitoring Desk:
Israeli airstrikes renewed airstrikes on Saturday and killed 12 Palestinians including a mother and three children in Gaza and other Palestinian territories. The Israeli military has targeted civilian Palestinian populations as the US and Arab countries’ diplomats called for an end to attacks.
Palestinian medics said at least 12 people were killed overnight in airstrikes throughout Gaza. Health officials said a woman and her three children were among the dead after their house was hit in a refugee camp.
The Israeli military said it carried out strikes on a Hamas military intelligence facility and a number of rocket launching sites in northern Gaza.
The Palestinian religious affairs ministry said Israeli planes destroyed a mosque. A military spokesman said the army was checking the report.
Across the border, sirens sounded throughout much of southern Israel, sending residents running for shelter. In the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod, buildings were struck by rockets. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
With no sign of an end to the violence, casualties spread further afield, with Palestinians reporting on Friday 11 killed in the occupied West Bank due to attacks by Israeli security forces.
At least 132 people have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 32 children and 21 women, and 950 others wounded, Palestinian medical officials said.
Among the eight dead in Israel were a soldier patrolling the Gaza border and six civilians, including two children, Israeli authorities said.
Ahead of a session of the UN Security Council on Sunday to discuss the situation, Biden administration envoy Hady Amr, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, flew in on Friday.
