Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 18

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians today, including seven people shot while waiting to collect food aid.

The figures could not be verified and Israel denies deliberately shooting those waiting for aid, although it says troops fire warning shots at those who endanger the forces.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal, whom Israel has accused of being an active Hamas operative, tells AFP that seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a hospital courtyard in Gaza City, in the territory’s north.

Witnesses say the victims were members of a Hamas unit, which a source from the Palestinian terror group describes as responsible for distributing aid and “fighting thieves.”

There is no comment from the IDF, which is preparing a broader offensive in Gaza City and has sent ground forces to the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood in recent days.

Witnesses on Sunday report Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into the morning.

Bassal says four people were killed in a strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Younis.

He says Israel continues its intense bombardment of Gaza City’s Zeitoun, where troops have carried out a ground operation for the past week.

He said civil defense crews were facing “enormous difficulties reaching those trapped under the rubble” due to the ongoing violence and lack of equipment.