GAZA CITY
At least ten Palestinian children were killed and 45 others injured on Monday by Israeli shelling of the western Gaza City Al-Shati Camp, a Palestinian Health Ministry official said.
The official, who asked not to be named, added that the bodies of at least ten children arrived at Al-Shefaa Hospital, having been killed by an Israeli strike on a camp public park.
He added that 45 injured victims had also arrived at the hospital, describing the conditions of some of the victims as "serious".
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, meanwhile, denounced the killing of the ten children, saying Israel managed to commit this crime because of what it described as "international silence".
"The massacre of the children of Al-Shati Camp is tantamount to a war crime," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement. "It provokes the feelings of Muslims during the feast," he added.
The Israeli army had, however denied any responsibility for the killing of the children.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said bombings at the camp and at Al-Shefa Hospital were caused by missiles that were fired by "Palestinian saboteurs".
"The missiles fell inside the Gaza Strip by mistake," Adraee said on his Twitter account.
Israel launched a series of aerial strikes on different parts of the Gaza Strip on Monday, the first day in the Islamic minor feast.
The United Nations had proposed a new 24-hour ceasefire that starts at 2:00pm on Monday, but Israel had rejected it.
Hamas had earlier said that Israel refuses to any kind of calm during the Islamic feast.
At least 1045 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6235 others injured in relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza since July 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel's current offensive – codenamed "Protective Edge" - is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely populated Gaza Strip - home to 1.8 million Palestinians - within the last six years.
By Yasser al-Banna
www.aa.com.tr/en
