Israeli strikes kill six people in Gaza, medics say

CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed at least six Palestinians in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the territory’s health officials said.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle killed at least four people and wounded 14 others in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City, while an earlier airstrike on an apartment elsewhere in the city killed a woman.

Later on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike outside a mosque in Khan Younis killed one person and wounded others, medics said, taking the day’s death toll to at least six.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the reported strikes.

Israel, which says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of an October ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks.

Israeli strikes kill at least two people in Gaza, officials say

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Last year’s US-brokered ceasefire calls for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops.

Israeli airstrikes have continued. At least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory’s health officials, while Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza.