UPDATE - 5 children among 7 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on northern, central Gaza

UPDATES DEATH TOLL

By Hosni Nedim and Ikram Kouachi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least seven Palestinians, including five children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes targeting the northern and central Gaza Strip.

Medical officials confirmed to Anadolu that the children lost their lives when Israeli forces bombed the Mashharawi family home in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Two more Palestinians were killed in another Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghraqa area in central Gaza, according to medical sources.

These attacks are part of an ongoing Israeli offensive that has intensified in recent days.

Meanwhile, another Israeli airstrike hit western Rafah in southern Gaza. Initial reports have not confirmed the casualties from this attack, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

Earlier on Saturday, heavy Israeli bombardment targeted homes and agricultural lands in Gaza City.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 112,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.