Airstrike kills 13 in Israeli attack on northern Gaza

An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 13 people, Palestinian media in the territory reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said two buildings in which militants were hiding had been hit on Monday night in the al-Shati and Daraj Tuffah refugee neighbourhoods.

Among those targeted were individuals who had been involved in the October 7 massacres and hostage-takings, the army said.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said militants were operating “inside school compounds which was used by Hamas as a shield for its terrorist activities.”

Palestinian media in Gaza said that at least 13 people were killed in the attack in al-Shati.

According to unconfirmed reports, one of them was a sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The IDF made no mention of Haniyeh’s sister in its statement on social media.

The IDF said air surveillance measures, precision-guided munitions and intelligence resources were used to minimize harm to civilians.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre of more than 1,200 people by Hamas and allied militant groups in Israel on October 7.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 37,626 people had been killed and more than 86,000 injured in Gaza since the start of the war.

The figures did not distinguish between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified.