Women and children among 12 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, officials say

At least 12 people have been killed in overnight Israeli strikes on the Gaza strip, with women and children among the dead.

Gaza's Health Ministry said seven people were killed when Israeli forces struck a home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. Four children and a woman were found dead and at least other people were wounded, officials added.

Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had ordered people to evacuate an area near Bureij overnight, saying it would strike there in response to recent rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

A third strike early on Wednesday in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital.

Since October 7, Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

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It says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of those killed were militants.

The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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