Gaza civil defense says 16 killed in Israel strikes

A Palestinian man near tents set up inside a destroyed building near Gaza City's port. (File/AFP)
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GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza鈥檚 civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people on Friday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days.

The toll from 鈥淚sraeli strikes in various areas across the Gaza Strip since midnight鈥� totaled 16 dead, agency official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir said.

He said there were also dozens of people wounded in the attacks, which mainly hit the center and south of the territory.

In Gaza鈥檚 north, Al-Awda hospital reported Friday that three of its staff were injured 鈥渁fter Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs鈥� on the facility.

The Israeli army said that over the past day, its forces had attacked 鈥渕ilitary compounds, weapons storage facilities and sniper posts鈥� in Gaza.

鈥淚n addition, the (air force) struck over 75 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,鈥� it added.

Aid began trickling into the Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time in more than two months, amid mounting condemnation of an Israeli blockade that has sparked severe shortages of food and medicine.

COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that on Thursday 107 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza.

The UN鈥檚 World Food Programme said the following day that 15 of its trucks 鈥渨ere looted late last night in southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries.鈥�

WFP executive director Cindy McCain had previously said some aid was finally reaching Gazans, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 moving far too slowly.鈥�

Israel resumed major operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.

On Friday, Gaza鈥檚 health ministry said at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since then, taking the war鈥檚 overall toll to 53,822, mostly civilians.

Hamas鈥檚 October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.