Ten Palestinians killed in airstrikes on houses in central Gaza, medics say

At least 10 Palestinians, including two children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two houses in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, medics told Reuters on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry said there was ongoing intense and heavy bombing of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which it said was occurring in an “unprecedented manner” and without prior warning.

The hospital is one of only three barely operational medical facilities on the northern edge of the enclave, where the Israeli army has been operating since October.

“The bombing is being conducted with explosives and tank fire, directly targeting us while we are present inside the hospital departments,” the ministry said.

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.

Read more: Israel’s deprivation of water in Gaza is act of genocide: HRW

“This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to an ‘act of genocide’ under the Genocide Convention of 1948,” Human Rights Watch said in its report.

Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas-led attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war.

In a statement on X, Israel’s foreign ministry wrote: “The truth is the complete opposite of HRW’s lies.”

“Since the beginning of the war, Israel has facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite operating under constant attacks of Hamas terror organization,” the statement said.