Among the dead are six children and three women, according to the local health authority. Some of the victims are said to have been in the “safe zones”, where the Israeli military dropped leaflets over Gaza urging Palestinians to seek shelter.
Twelve of the victims are said to have died in attacks on three houses in Nuiserat, which since 1948 have served as a refugee camp for displaced Palestinians. A reporter from the AP news agency counted the bodies at a local hospital.
At the same time, talks are ongoing between Israel and mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar, about trying to negotiate a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The latest airstrikes came just hours after Israeli warplanes attacked a school where refugees had sought refuge outside the town of Khan Yunis. The death toll has risen to 31, including eight children, staff at the Nasser hospital told AP.
Israel’s army says it is investigating the reports of civilian deaths and the airstrike at the school, and that it targeted a Hamas militiaman who allegedly took part in the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year.