Israeli strike in Beit Lahia kills family of four, including two girls

An Israeli strike on a family home in northern Gaza killed four members of a single household — a husband, his wife and their two daughters, aged 8 and 12 — residents said, as mourners gathered to receive the bodies.

The strike hit Beit Lahia. The bodies were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and later taken for burial.

A neighbour of the family, Zuheir al-Heisami, said the attack occurred at about 2 am. "There is no justification for Israel to strike this house," he said at the hospital, adding that the two children and their parents were asleep when they were killed.

He described unrelenting fire in the area. "Day and night, the shooting never stops. Shells and shrapnel rain down on us and on the tents. People are being wounded and killed by the gunfire and shelling," he said.

Footage from the scene showed people carrying four body bags out of the morgue and placing them on the ground, then loading them into an ambulance. Two of the bags were marked with the names of the girls.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the early Thursday strike. In a later statement, it said its forces had struck Hamas weapons storage facilities in three areas across Gaza on Wednesday.

Israel's military has previously said it carries out strikes in response to threats against its forces under a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since October.