At least 18 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza as more evacuations ordered

An Israel airstrike in Gaza killed at least 18 people, all from the same family, on Saturday, hours after mediators expressed optimism for a possible cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas following 10 months of war.

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

Among those killed was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza. The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children ages 2 to 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 sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time, he said.

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

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike Saturday in southern Lebanon killed at least 10 Syrians, including a woman and her two children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot.

Another evacuation is ordered in Gaza

Another mass evacuation was ordered for parts of central Gaza. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X cited Palestinian rocket fire and said Palestinians in areas in and around the urban Maghazi refugee camp should leave.

“The suffering began from the day we left our homes,” said Ahmad Omrani, one of those affected by the order, as heavily laden vehicles, bikes and donkey carts weaved through the rubble. “We suffer from fear and anxiety, and fear for the children playing in the street. You cannot sleep, sit or eat well.”

The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, and around 84% of the territory has been put under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.

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

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants, without providing evidence.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israel’s military said it struck a “terrorist cell” in Jenin. The health ministry there said two bodies were taken to a government hospital. Hamas claimed the two men as commanders in its military wing.