Hospitals in Gaza have said Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since an October agreement aimed at stopping the fighting.
The missiles hit locations in northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals which received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two families.
Israeli planes carried out further strikes, while the army issued an evacuation warning for a building in Khan Younis, in anticipation of an attack.
The strikes came a day before a border crossing is expected to open in Gaza’s southernmost city, a reminder that the death toll is still rising even as a ceasefire agreement inches forward.
All of the territory’s border crossings have been closed since the start of the war, and Palestinians see the Rafah crossing with Egypt as a lifeline for the tens of thousands in need of treatment outside the territory because most of its medical infrastructure has been destroyed by Israeli bombardment.
Israel wants to ensure that more Palestinians leave Gaza than enter it, according to Reuters, which said Israel is aiming to allow only 150 Palestinians into Gaza through Rafah each day.
Shifa hospital said Israel’s strike on Gaza City killed a mother, three children and one of their relatives on Saturday morning, while Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said a strike in a tent camp caused a fire, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren.
Gaza deaths graphic
Gaza’s health ministry has recorded more than 500 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire on 10 October.
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes.
Despite Israel’s frequent killing of Palestinians in violation of the October ceasefire, the deal has moved to a crucial second phase. Some of the thorniest issues are contained in the second phase, which would require Hamas to disarm and hand over power to a President Donald Trump-appointed Board of Peace organisation staffed by his appointees.
Palestinians inspect damage to a tent hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 31 January. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
A recent presentation in Davos by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is also involved in Trump’s Gaza project, showed the Trump administration’s plan for “developing Gaza”, complete with sleek skyscrapers and corniches overlooking the Mediterranean.
Most of Gaza has been levelled and basic infrastructure remains inoperable as a result of Israeli bombing over the past two years, which has also killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. Last year, a UN commission of inquiry found that Israel had committed a genocide in Gaza.
