At least 12 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, according to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the deadliest death toll since a cease-fire aimed at ending hostilities took effect in October.
Officials at the hospital that received the bodies said the attacks hit various locations in northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Yunis.
Shifa Hospital announced that a strike in Gaza City killed a mother, three children and a relative Saturday morning, while Nasser Hospital announced that a strike at a tent camp caused a fire that killed seven people, including a father, three children and three grandchildren.
The attack took place a day before the Rafah border crossing in Gaza’s southernmost city was scheduled to open, and as the second phase of the cease-fire agreement was slowly moving forward.
Border crossings in the Gaza Strip have been closed since the start of the war in October 2023, and Palestinians see the Rafah border with Egypt as a lifeline for tens of thousands of people needing treatment outside the area, where much of the medical infrastructure has been destroyed.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli shelling since the ceasefire began on October 10 last year.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about the latest attack.