Gaza health officials say Israeli strike on port kills six

Gaza health officials said Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike killed six people in the port of Gaza City and wounded a dozen more, while the Israeli army said it had targeted several Hamas commanders.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP, that at least six were killed, "including a child, and a large number were wounded, as a result of an Israeli raid on tents of displaced people in Gaza port."

The Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it had received five bodies and 13 injured, one of whom died later in the evening.

Eyewitness Mohammed Alghoul told AFP: "Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at the 'Sweet and Bitter' cafe on the fishermen's port west of Gaza City."

The Israeli army said it carried out a "precise aerial strike" against "several Hamas commanders" who "planned to carry out terror attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip" and that "steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians."

In a separate statement, it said it struck a meeting of commanders of Hamas's elite fighting units, including one who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the Gaza war.

According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli army has curbed its operations in the Gaza Strip in recent days under US pressure, and has only been carrying out strikes to remove imminent threats to its troops, or to eliminate those who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack.

Hamas issued a statement condemning the strike, saying it exemplified Israel's "blatant disregard for all calls for a ceasefire issued by mediators and guarantor states, including President Trump's call yesterday," referring comments the US leader made in a Fox News interview.

Tuesday's air raid came one day after White House envoy Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reiterated his position that a withdrawal of the Israeli army would only take place after Hamas is fully disarmed.

The Palestinian Islamist group, whose leader Khalil al-Hayya met Kushner on Sunday, has said it is committed to the US-sponsored peace plan, and has demanded the US administration pressure Netanyahu to adhere to it.