Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 37, including children

Gaza: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 37 people in the devastated territory on Saturday, including at least nine children who died in strikes.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP 35 people were killed in seven Israeli drone and air strikes in various locations, and two others by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza. He said the dead included three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.

Bassal said at least six more children died in a neighbourhood in the northeast of Gaza City, including some in an air strike near a school where displaced people were sheltering.


The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment by Saturday evening.

As international criticism mounted over civilian deaths in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Saturday that his country "stands ready, Europe as well, to contribute to the safety of food distribution" in Gaza. Such an initiative, he added, would also deal with Israeli concerns that armed groups such as Hamas were intercepting the aid.