Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill 12, including family of six

Gaza's civil defense agency and witnesses said Israeli strikes killed 12 people, including a family of six, in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in place but has not halted the violence, and efforts to secure a lasting agreement have stalled.

What happened in the Israeli strike on the al-Masri family?

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike targeting a police vehicle in the central Gaza Strip, March 15, 2026.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike targeting a police vehicle in the central Gaza Strip, March 15, 2026.Reuters

An airstrike hit a house belonging to the al-Masri family in central Gaza City, according to the territory's Hamas-run civil defense agency. Witnesses said six family members were killed, including four children, and Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital said it received the bodies and the wounded. An Israeli military source told AFP the strike had targeted "a Hamas terrorist" in the area, without elaborating.

What did witnesses say about the strike?

AFP journalists at the site saw extensive damage to the charred, multi-storey house, whose roof had almost completely collapsed. Survivor Ahmed al-Masri said the attack "took us by surprise" and that he could hear children crying for help but could not save them. He said his brother's entire family, including a wife and four children, was killed, and that he had helped his own children escape through a window as flames spread through the building.

Another witness, Youssef al-Masri, said the strike hit around 2:00 am while residents were asleep. He described hearing a massive explosion before finding the house shelled, destroyed and on fire.

How many people has Israel killed in Gaza since the ceasefire?

The civil defense agency said six other people were killed in a separate Israeli strike in Gaza on Tuesday. The Israeli military said that strike targeted "several armed terrorists transferring weapons in a vehicle" in southern Gaza. The United Nations said Israeli attacks killed at least 57 Palestinians between July 13 and 20, with UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan telling reporters in Geneva that Israel had intensified its attacks in recent days and that "nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza."

The Israeli army has in recent days announced a series of strikes targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad members it says were involved in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, or in holding hostages afterward. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable, says at least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect last October. The Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers and one civilian contractor in Gaza over the same period.

Restrictions on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying casualty tolls or freely covering the violence there.