Israeli strikes in Gaza kill eight including child, hospitals say

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill eight including child, hospitals say

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least eight people, including a child, according to hospitals, despite a ceasefire that began a year ago.

In northern Gaza City, hospital officials said a missile strike hit a group of civilians beside Cairo School in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood, killing three people, among them a child.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, the Hamas-run interior ministry said a drone strike targeted a group of police officers in the Al-Mawasi area, killing five as they were carrying out their routine duties.

The Israeli military said it had carried out two strikes on what it described as military operatives, but it has not yet offered evidence or further details.

The interior ministry identified the five police officers killed, saying they were aged between 23 and 53. It described the attack as a "horrific massacre" by Israeli forces.

A ceasefire took effect in Gaza in October last year, but Israeli air strikes have continued almost daily.

Since then, 1,580 people have been killed, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are regarded as reliable by the UN. Israel says it is targeting Hamas, though civilians are often killed as well.

Meanwhile, a Gaza peace plan brokered by the Trump administration has stalled.

The ceasefire led to the release of thousands of Palestinians held by Israel in exchange for all 48 remaining hostages held in Gaza, and to an agreement to end the war, which was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Since the war started, 74,594 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry.