At least 18 dead in Israeli airstrike on Gaza, further evacuations ordered

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Saturday killed at least 18 people, all from the same family, just hours after mediators expressed optimism for a possible ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas after ten months of war.

Saturday's airstrike hit a house and an adjacent warehouse housing displaced people at the entrance to the town of Zawaida, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where victims were taken. An Associated Press reporter counted the number of dead there.

Among those killed was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to transport meat and fish to Gaza. Also among the dead were his two wives, 11 of their children aged between 2 and 22, the children's grandmother and three other relatives, according to a list provided by the hospital.

“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbor. More than 40 civilians were seeking shelter in the house and warehouse at the time, he said.

The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual attacks, said it had hit “terrorist infrastructure” in central Gaza, where rockets have been fired at Israel in recent weeks. It said it was continuing its attacks on militants in central Gaza.

Meanwhile, an Israeli attack took place in southern Lebanon on Saturday at least 10 Syrians killedincluding a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Israel said it had attacked a Hezbollah weapons depot.

Another evacuation in the Gaza Strip is ordered

Another mass evacuation was ordered for parts of the central Gaza Strip. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee, in a post on X, referred to Palestinian rocket fire and said Palestinians in areas in and around the municipal Maghazi refugee camp should leave the camp.

“The suffering started from the day we left our homes,” said Ahmad Omrani, one of those affected by the order, as heavily loaded vehicles, bicycles and donkey carts drove through the rubble. “We suffer from fear and anxiety and are afraid for the children playing in the streets. You cannot sleep, sit or eat well.”

According to the United Nations, the vast majority of Gaza's population has been displaced, often multiple times, and the Israeli military has issued an evacuation order for around 84 percent of the territory.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250 into Gaza. More than 100 were released under a ceasefire in November.

Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 Hamas fighters, but provides no evidence.

Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 40,074 Palestinians had been killed in the war. The ministry made no distinction between fighters and civilians.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said it had attacked a “terrorist cell” in Jenin. The local health ministry said two bodies had been taken to a state hospital. Hamas described the two men as commanders of its military wing.