Seven Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on central Gaza

Seven Palestinians were killed when an overnight Israeli airstrike hit a family home in the centre of the Gaza Strip, the WAFA news agency reported on Friday.

Footage circulated on social media and in Palestinian media reportedly showed volunteers searching for people buried under rubble after the attack in Al-Bureij, and wrapping the body of a young man in a blanket.

The information and the authenticity of the footage could not initially be independently verified. When asked, the Israeli military said it would investigate the report.

WAFA also reported other Israeli attacks in the coastal strip, some of which fatal.

According to media reports, the Israeli government is set to decide on Friday whether to ramp up attacks in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to pressure the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group into releasing more hostages.

The current Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 abducted to Gaza.

During a ceasefire of about two months, Hamas released dozens of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

But after no agreement was reached on an extension of the ceasefire, Israel resumed attacks on Gaza in mid-March.

According to Israel, of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, 35 are no longer alive.

More than 52,400 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities, including some 2,300 since fighting resumed on March 18.