At least 11 Palestinians, including two 13-year-old boys, three journalists and a woman, were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, hospital officials said, marking one of the deadliest days since the cease-fire took effect in October.
A statement said six were also injured in attacks that targeted multiple areas of Gaza, without providing details about the locations or identities of the victims.
Munir al-Bursh, the director-general of Gaza's Health Ministry, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that three journalists were among those killed in the Israeli attacks in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Media Office said the number of journalists killed since the start of the onslaught has risen to 260, after three Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli strike.
It identified the journalists as Abdel Raouf Samir Shaat, Mohammed Salah Qashta and Anas Abdullah Ghanim, saying they worked with several media outlets.
Witnesses earlier said that Israeli army forces shelled the eastern parts of the Deir al-Balah city, killing at least three people, amid daily Israeli violations of the cease-fire deal in place since Oct. 10. Airstrikes also targeted eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City.
The other 13-year-old was shot by troops in the eastern town of Bani Suheila, Nasser Hospital said after receiving the body. In a video circulated online, the father of Moatsem al-Sharafy is seen weeping over it.
The boy's mother, Safaa al-Sharafy, told The Associated Press that he had left to gather firewood so she could cook.
"He went out in the morning, hungry," she said, tears running down her cheeks. "He told me he'd go quickly and come back."
Local sources said two powerful explosions rocked northern Gaza and Gaza City after Israeli forces demolished remaining buildings and facilities east of the Sheikh Zayed area in the north.
Israeli naval vessels also fired machine guns toward the Gaza City coastline, while a helicopter and military vehicles opened fire on the city's eastern parts.
In southern Gaza, Israeli military vehicles fired heavily toward the eastern areas of Khan Younis, according to eyewitnesses.
The Israeli army continues to control southern and eastern buffer zones in Gaza, as well as large parts of northern Gaza, occupying more than 50% of the territory.
Israel's military campaign since Oct. 8, 2023, which lasted two years, has killed more than 71,500 Palestinians and wounded over 171,300. It has destroyed 90% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure.
Since the cease-fire took effect Oct. 10, Israeli attacks have killed 483 Palestinians and wounded 1,287 others, while Israel has severely restricted the entry of food, shelter supplies and medical aid into Gaza, where about 2.4 million Palestinians live in dire conditions.
