Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 17 people including three children in the war-stricken Palestinian territory on Sunday.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 16 people died in airstrikes at five locations around the Gaza Strip, and another from Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre.

The Israeli military told AFP it was not able to comment on the reported incidents but said it was fighting “to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” in a campaign launched in 2023 against the Islamist militant group whose attack on Israel triggered the war.

Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.

Bassal said two children were killed in an airstrike on their home in Gaza City’s Zeitun neighbourhood in the early morning, and “the house was completely destroyed”.

A member of the family, Abdel Rahman Azzam, 45, told AFP he was at home and “heard a huge explosion at my relative’s house”.

“I rushed out in panic and saw the house destroyed and on fire,” he added.

“We evacuated more than 20 injured people, including two martyrs – two children from the family. The screams of children and women were non-stop,” Azzam said.

“They bombed the house with a missile without any prior warning. This is a horrific crime. We sleep without knowing if we will wake up.”

Elsewhere, Bassal said a drone strike on a tent housing displaced people near the southern city of Khan Yunis killed five people including a child.

He said that other casualties included a young man killed “by Israeli fire this morning while waiting for aid” near a humanitarian distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah.

Evacuation order

The Israeli military issued an evacuation order on Sunday for parts of Gaza City and nearby areas in the territory’s north, warning of imminent action there.

The military “will operate with intense force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand ... to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organisations”, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement posted on X.

He told residents to “evacuate immediately south” to Al-Mawasi area on the coast.

The civil defence agency later said an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Gaza City, killing three people.

Israel launched its offensive in October 2023 after the deadly Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,412 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.

After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages.

-Agence France-Presse