At least 18 killed as Israeli fighter jets strike Palestinian house in central Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least 18 Palestinians were killed as Israeli warplanes struck a house in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry in the blockaded enclave said.

The strike targeted a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli attack caused massive destruction in the area, according to witnesses.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed since then. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

Besides the large number of casualties and massive displacements, basic supplies are running low for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents due to the Israeli siege.

Food is running out, and bakeries are inoperable in Gaza, according to the World Food Program. The UN agency in a statement said it is trying to scale up to reach over 1 million people with urgent food assistance. “But humanitarian access must be expanded,” it said.

As many as 650 trucks carrying essential aid have entered Gaza since Oct. 21, but people need much more, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office.

It said that the drinking water brought in serves just 4% of Gaza’s residents, while “desperately needed” fuel remains banned.

Bringing in vital supplies "safely, repeatedly and at scale is critical," it added.