Israeli Strikes Kill 11 in Gaza, Including Children and Journalists

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Cairo: Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians across Gaza on Wednesday, including two 13-year-old boys, three journalists and a woman, hospital officials said, marking one of the deadliest days since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in October.

The deaths occurred amid continued tensions despite efforts by the United States to advance talks on implementing the ceasefire’s second phase.

Among those killed were three Palestinian journalists who were struck while filming near a displacement camp in central Gaza. Mohammed Mansour, a spokesperson for the committee managing the camp, said the journalists were documenting its operations when their vehicle was hit in the Netzarim area. Video footage circulating online showed a burned and smoking vehicle at the scene.

Israel’s military said it had identified suspects operating a drone that posed a threat to its forces, without directly confirming whether the journalists were the intended targets.

One of the journalists killed, Abdul Raouf Shaat, was a regular contributor to Agence France-Presse, though AFP said he was not on assignment at the time. The agency described him as a “kind-hearted colleague” and called for a full investigation.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 200 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in 2023.

The two boys were killed in separate incidents, according to hospital officials. In one case, a 13-year-old boy, his father and a 22-year-old man were killed in a drone strike on the eastern edge of the Bureij refugee camp.

In another incident, a 13-year-old boy, Moatsem al-Sharafy, was shot by Israeli troops in the eastern town of Bani Suheila, when he had gone out to gather firewood.

Hospitals also reported receiving the body of a Palestinian woman shot in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, while three brothers were killed in a separate Israeli tank shelling in the Bureij camp.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 470 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect on October 10. At least 77 were killed near a ceasefire line separating Israeli-controlled areas from much of Gaza’s population.