Child killed in Israeli strike on central Gaza home
An Israeli airstrike on a home in Zawaida, central Gaza, killed a four-year-old and wounded five, including a child.
A four-year-old child was killed and at least five other people were wounded on Sunday when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the central Gaza town of Zawaida, according to hospital officials.
The child, identified as Mohammed Taha, died after the missile strike, while the wounded were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Among the injured was another child.
Residents said the strike came just minutes after the Israeli military issued a warning for people to leave the area around the targeted house. A second missile hit an open space nearby.
Video footage from the scene showed thick smoke rising from the rubble, firefighters battling flames, and residents sifting through the debris of collapsed buildings. One local man, Abu Ibrahim Eid, described the attack: "They launched four missiles, and all this destruction is because of those missiles." He added that displaced families in the area had lost everything and were now searching for a safe place to go.
In a statement on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to act "immediately and forcefully" to stop the launch of balloons, kites, or drones from Gaza toward Israeli communities near the border. Such incendiary devices were used from Gaza before the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, causing fires and damage in southern Israel.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided since a fragile ceasefire took hold in October, Israeli forces have continued to carry out airstrikes in Gaza. Health officials say more than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed in these strikes since the truce began. The overall death toll in the war has surpassed 73,400, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.