Israel strikes across Gaza, killing 24 | Newsline

Among the Palestinians killed Wednesday were at least five children, seven women and an on-duty paramedic, according to hospital officials.

“Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” said Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, in a Facebook post.

The ceasefire attempted to halt the more than 2-year-old war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, it has been marred by repeated flare-ups of violence.

A total of 556 Palestinians, half whom were women and children, have been killed by Israel since the ceasefire went into effect, according to Gaza health officials. Israel’s military says four of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began.

Israel has said its strikes are responses to Hamas ceasefire violations or militant attacks on its soldiers. Eight Arab and Muslim countries, including mediators Egypt and Qatar, recently condemned what they called Israel’s “repeated violations” of the deal.

An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military policy, told The Associated Press that Israel’s latest attacks were in response to militant gunfire that badly wounded a reservist soldier Wednesday morning.

Israeli troops fired on a building in the Tuffah neighborhood in north Gaza, killing at least 11 people, most from the same family, said Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included two parents, their 10-day-old daughter Wateen Khabbaz, her 5-month-old cousin, Mira Khabbaz, and the children’s grandmother.