Israeli strikes kill 20 in Gaza, hospitals say, after soldier wounded by gunfire

At least 20 Palestinians, including several children and at least two paramedics, were killed in Israeli strikes in northern and southern Gaza, hospitals and aid agencies said. Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City received 13 bodies — five of them children — from strikes on tents and homes in the eastern Zeitoun and Tuffah neighbourhoods. Nasser hospital in Khan Younis reported four dead, including one child, after strikes on tents in Qizan Rashwan, and additional strikes in the coastal al-Mawasi area killed two children and a paramedic; witnesses said a second strike hit rescuers who had rushed to help. The Israeli military said tanks and aircraft had carried out precise strikes on "terrorists" who opened fire on troops near the Yellow Line, wounding an Israeli officer, and called the shooting a breach of the three-month-old ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of using the incident as a pretext for continued attacks, while the Palestinian Red Crescent condemned the killing of medical staff as a violation of international humanitarian law. Israeli and Hamas forces have accused each other of near-daily violations since a ceasefire took effect on 10 October, the Israeli military said it was checking recent reports. Over the weekend Israeli strikes across Gaza killed more than 30 people — rescue officials put one toll at least 32 — and Israel said it launched some strikes after gunmen emerged from a tunnel in southern Rafah beyond the Yellow Line. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says at least 556 people have been killed by Israeli fire, while Israel reports four of its soldiers have been killed in Palestinian attacks. Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and Gazans returning via Rafah describe checks by Palestinian militias. The current conflict stems from the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage; Israel’s ensuing campaign in Gaza has, according to the territory’s health ministry, left more than 71,820 people dead.