AN Israeli air strike has killed at least 18 people from the same family in Gaza.
The air strike in Gaza early on Saturday morning hit a house and an adjacent warehouse sheltering displaced people at the entrance of the town of Zawaida, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken.
Among those killed was a wholesaler identified as Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, who co-ordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza.
The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children aged two to 22, the children’s grandmother, and three other relatives, according to a death list provided by the hospital.
“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbour who was slightly wounded in the attack.
More than 40 civilians were sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time of the strike, he said.
Footage showed bulldozers removing rubble from the heavily damaged warehouse, and trucks that Abu Ahmed said were used to bring meat and fish to Gaza from Israel.
The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it was looking into the report. It said on Saturday that it was continuing attacks on militants in central Gaza, including one seen launching rockets at troops.
Meanwhile, another mass evacuation was ordered for areas in central Gaza. In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Palestinians in areas in and around the urban Maghazi refugee camp should leave. He said Israeli forces will operate in these areas in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the fighting, often multiple times, and around 84% of Gaza’s territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing about 1200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants in the war, without providing evidence.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
