Gaza hospital says 31 killed in Israeli strike on Nuseirat

GAZA STRIP

A Gaza hospital said Sunday that an Israeli air strike targeting a house at a refugee camp in the centre of the Palestinian territory killed at least 31 people.

"The civil defence crew were able to recover 31 martyrs and 20 wounded from a house belonging to the Hassan family, which was targeted by the Israeli occupation forces in the Nuseirat camp," Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told journalists.

Witnesses said the strike occurred around 3:00 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT). The Israeli army said it was checking the report.

Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that the wounded included several children, and rescuers were searching for missing people trapped under the rubble.

Fierce battles and heavy Israeli bombardments have been reported in the central Nuseirat camp since the military launched a "targeted" operation focussing on the southern city of Rafah in early May.

Palestinian militants and Israeli troops have also clashed in north Gaza's Jabalia camp for days now.

Witnesses said several other houses were targeted in air strikes during the night across Gaza, and that air strikes and artillery shelling also hit parts of Rafah during the night.

The Israeli military said two more soldiers were killed in Gaza the previous day.

The military said 282 soldiers have been killed so far in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on Oct. 27.