Israeli airstrike kills 12 Palestinians in Gaza

At least 12 Palestinians, including a boy and his pregnant mother, were killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in the war-torn Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said.

The strike hit a house in Nuseirat, an urban refugee camp in central Gaza, killing a couple and their young son, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The fourth fatality was taken to the Awda hospital in Nuseirat.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The deaths were the latest fatalities among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since an October ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than 2-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has still seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated air strikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 650 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel says it has responded to violations of the ceasefire or targeted wanted militants. But about half of those killed have been women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. They were among more than 72,200 Palestinians killed in the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The militant attack killed over 1,200 people and took over 250 others hostage.

The health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led Government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants. Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.