5 people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza apartment, Palestine

An Israeli air attack on a residential apartment in western Gaza City early on Saturday killed at least five people and severely wounded several others, medical staff at al-Shifa Hospital reported.

The strike hit the al-Asala building in the Remal (Rimal) neighbourhood without prior warning, according to Al Jazeera’s Hani al-Shaer. Remal is one of Gaza City’s most densely populated areas and shelters thousands of displaced people in makeshift camps.

The attack occurred in the middle of the night while residents were asleep. Al-Shaer said fighter jets were heard growing louder before three strikes hit the apartment, killing those inside. The munitions penetrated the targeted unit and tore through lower floors, causing widespread destruction in the multi-storey building. Fires burned for at least an hour before Palestinian Civil Defence crews extinguished them.

Al-Shifa Hospital said the dead included four women, among them an elderly Christian woman and her daughter. At least six wounded people were taken to the hospital for treatment. Civil defence teams continued searching the site for missing people as Israeli drones flew overhead and jets were heard at low altitude.

Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, described “another terrifying night,” noting explosions around 2 a.m. that shook the area and left people buried under rubble.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The strike comes amid a fragile US-brokered ceasefire that took effect the previous year. Gaza health officials say more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce began, while Israel has reported four of its soldiers killed by militants in the same period. Israel has accused Hamas of rearming and violating the ceasefire; Hamas denies the claims and accuses Israel of undermining the agreement.

The World Health Organization separately warned on Saturday of “devastating consequences” from repeated delays in allowing medical supplies into Gaza.

Since the war began on 7 October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 175,000 injured.