An Israeli strike on a funeral in Gaza kills 7 people and wounds 22, a local hospital says

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on a funeral in the central Gaza Strip killed at least seven people and wounded 22, while other attacks in the embattled coastal territory left five more dead, according to local officials.

The Israeli military said it targeted a “terrorist cell” belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. It said it was aware that civilians may have been harmed in the strike.

The Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza confirmed the number of casualties in the strike in central Gaza, saying people were struck at the funeral for a Palestinian killed in a strike earlier on Friday. In that attack, which killed two people, the Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant, without elaborating.

Israeli fire also killed three more people on Friday, including two women, in northern Gaza, Gaza City and Khan Younis, according to local health officials.

The Palestinian Hamas militant group, which has fought a bruising war with Israel, called the strike on the funeral “a heinous crime.”

Israel and the militant group agreed to a ceasefire deal in October aimed at halting a two-year-long war.

The heaviest fighting has subsided but at least 1,123 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, which has been part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children make up most of the dead.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up its strikes in Gaza, targeting people in cars, tents, buildings and on the street. It says it is going after Hamas and other militants but civilians have also been killed.

According to the independent monitoring group, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, Israel carried out 40 attacks targeting militants in June, the highest monthly total since the start of the ceasefire.

The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press