Israeli Airstrikes Kill 26 in Gaza, Including 13 From Single Family

Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, killing 13 members of the Baraka family, most of them children, according to local reports.

Gaza’s civil defense agency said rescue crews retrieved the bodies of the victims “and a large number of injuries from the house of the Baraka family and the neighboring houses targeted by the Israeli occupation forces.”

In a separate airstrike in northern Gaza’s Tal Al-Zaatar area, Israeli jets hit the home of the Nasibu family, killing 11 people, including women and children.

Another strike in western Khan Yunis claimed the lives of a father and his son when the Abu Akr family home was hit.

The latest attacks followed deadly Israeli raids on Thursday that left at least 40 Palestinians dead, many of them in camps for displaced civilians.

Among the targets was the coastal al-Mawasi area near Khan Yunis, where makeshift shelters were struck.

“We were sitting peacefully in the tent, under God’s protection, when we suddenly saw something red glowing – and then the tent exploded, and the surrounding tents caught fire,” said Israa Abu al-Rus.

“This is supposed to be a safe area in al-Mawasi, and the place just exploded. We fled the tent towards the sea and saw the tents burning.”

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a post on X that 15 children were killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours.

“Images of children burning while sheltering in makeshift tents should shake us all to our core,” Russell said.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, resulting in over 51,000 Palestinian deaths and more than 116,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

Despite accepting a ceasefire agreement proposed by Hamas on January 19, Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, breaking the truce unilaterally.