Gaza: Israel targets 'safe zone' as tens of thousands flee Khan Younis

An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed at least eight people, including four children and two women in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah, hospital authorities in the territory said.

The Palestinians who were killed were displaced people who on Monday fled their homes in eastern Khan Younis.

The deadly strike hit a house on Tuesday afternoon.

Civil defence first-responders were seen searching the rubble for remains of the dead on Tuesday.

Injured people, including children, were carried into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and several were treated on the floor, according to hospital records and Associated Press journalists there. The hospital is the main medical facility in central Gaza.

The dead, including women, were taken to a morgue wrapped in blankets.

Associated Press journalists also counted the bodies.

Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of public order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fuelling widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.

In its war on Gaza, Israel has killed at least 37,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.