Gaza’s civil defence agency on Thursday said at least 52 people, including eight children, were killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory battered by more than 21 months of war.
The latest wave of deadly strikes and gunfire came just hours after Hamas, which runs Gaza, announced it was willing to release 10 hostages as part of indirect ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar.
Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million people.
Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mughair told AFP that 52 people were killed across the territory, including 17 in a strike in front of a medical point in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Mughair said eight children and two women were among the dead following the strike in Deir el-Balah, adding Israeli aircraft targeted “a gathering of citizens in front of a medical point”.
Four people were killed and several injured in a pre-dawn air strike on a family home in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, Mughair added.
