9 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on eve of Eid al-Adha

Three more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, taking Tuesday’s death toll to nine, on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha amid continued violations of an ongoing ceasefire, medical sources said.

The attacks targeted a residential building containing shops, the roof of another residential building in Gaza City’s busiest commercial area, a civilian vehicle and a gathering of civilians in central and southern Gaza.

In the latest strike, three Palestinians, including a woman, were killed and 20 others injured after Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in the southern Rimal neighborhood west of Gaza City, the sources said.

Witnesses said the building was located in one of Gaza City’s most crowded shopping districts ahead of Eid al-Adha.

They added that Israeli warplanes fired several missiles at the building, causing major destruction in the area.

Another five Palestinians were injured in an Israeli strike targeting the roof of a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood, according to the sources.

Earlier, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in a strike targeting a civilian vehicle west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

A medical source said the bodies of the two victims arrived at Nasser Medical Complex severely burned and could not immediately be identified.

Witnesses said an Israeli drone targeted a civilian Hyundai Tucson vehicle near the Abu Alaa roundabout in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

Before that, four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a gathering of civilians east of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.

Medical sources said the bodies of four victims and several wounded people were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah following the strike.

At dawn, a Palestinian woman was injured by Israeli army fire after displaced persons’ tents were targeted in the Turkish slaughterhouse area of Khan Younis, according to a medical source at Nasser Hospital.

The same source later announced the death of a 14-year-old girl from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike Monday targeting tents for displaced people in the Ghaith camp in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.

That strike had previously killed two Palestinian women, including a child, and injured 30 others, most of them children and women.

Witnesses also said Israeli naval vessels opened fire toward the coasts of Rafah and Khan Younis without immediate reports of injuries.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement since last October have killed 906 Palestinians and injured 2,747 others as of Tuesday.

Israel has killed more than 72,000 people and injured over 172,000 in two years of a brutal offensive since October 2023 that has also caused widespread destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure.

*Writing by Sahin Demir in Istanbul