Report: 11 killed in new Gaza airstrike; Hamas: 72 killed in last day

An Israeli airstrike on Friday in the Gaza Strip killed at least 11 civilians, according to a Palestinian media report, as the territory's health authority reported earlier more than 70 people have been killed in the past 24 hours there.

In the airstrike, a tent city for war-displaced people in the centre of Gaza City was hit, reported the Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing its own correspondents in the blockaded coastal area. Several were injured, it said.

The report could not initially be independently verified and the Israeli military has not yet commented on it.

Earlier, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said more than 70 deaths have been registered within the past 24 hours as a result of Israeli attacks.

It reported an overall 72 dead and 174 injured in that period. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. The information cannot currently be verified.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, more than 56,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian sources. More than 132,600 have reportedly been injured.

Israeli forces have been battling Hamas and other Palestinian militants in the region since the October 7, 2023, attacks in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.