Israeli forces kill Palestinian siblings in attack on Gaza tent camp

An Israeli strike in southern Gaza on Saturday killed two Palestinian siblings, including a 15-year-old girl, and wounded at least seven people, according to the Nasser Hospital where the casualties were received.

The attack targeted tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the sprawling Muwasi camp, killing Islam Moussa, 15, and her brother Abdullah Moussa, 30.

The Israeli military acknowledged conducting a strike in the Muwasi area, claiming, without evidence, that it had targeted a Hamas militant.

At the hospital, relatives were seen weeping over the dead bodies, which were covered in white burial shrouds.

Separately on Saturday, the Israeli military struck a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in western Gaza City, wounding at least 12 people, according to the Shifa hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s ambulance service said two individuals were critically wounded and that the majority of the injured were women. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this strike.

Israeli forces continue to carry out near-daily strikes and shelling across the besieged Palestinian enclave despite agreeing a US-brokered “ceasefire” with Hamas in October. Israel maintains it’s targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat and is responding to ceasefire breaches.

Since the so-called ceasefire came into effect, Israel has killed more than 1,030 people across Gaza, according to the local health ministry. Last week, the ministry stated that Israel had killed over 250 children in Gaza since the ceasefire began.

A team of independent experts commissioned by the UN has accused Israel of deliberately shooting children in Gaza and reiterated that Israel has committed genocide in the territory. Israel denies the claim.

Israel launched a war on Gaza in October 2023 after some 1,200 people were killed during a Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Israeli forces have since killed over 73,050 Palestinians in Gaza, displaced the majority of its 2.2 million population, and turned much of the densely populated territory into rubble.