Hamas-run civil defense agency says 10 killed in Gaza strikes

The Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says Israeli strikes killed 10 people today, after the Israeli military announced the early stages of an intensified operation aimed at defeating Hamas.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP 10 bodies had been brought to Gaza hospitals after strikes this morning.

Three people were killed and four wounded in drone strikes east of the southern city of Khan Younis, he says, while three others were killed and several wounded in the bombing of a house in Jabalia, in the north.

An attack on an apartment northwest of Khan Younis killed three people, he adds, while one person was killed and five wounded, “including a girl, a young woman and a pregnant woman,” in a strike on a tent west of the same city.

The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.