Israeli strike in Gaza City kills 5, including four women, health officials say

An overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed five Palestinians, including four women, Gaza's civil defence agency and a hospital said on Saturday.

Israeli media reported the military was targeting senior Hamas official Ali al-Amoudi. The army has yet to comment.

Who was killed in the Israeli strike in Gaza City?

The dead were two women and their daughters, as well as a young man, according to Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital. The strike hit an apartment in the Rimal neighborhood. Several people were also injured.

Al-Shifa told AFP it had "received at dawn five martyrs and a number of injured... following the Israeli airstrike on an apartment." The director of Al-Shifa later said two of the five victims were Christians. Their funerals were held in the small Greek Orthodox church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City. Around 1,000 Christians live in the Palestinian territory, most of whom are Orthodox.

What did the civil defense say about the strike?

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the civil defense, told AFP his team took "five bodies and several wounded" to the hospital. The agency operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority. He said two missiles directly hit the apartment, causing a fire and damaging the building.

Israeli media reported that the military was targeting Ali al-Amoudi, a senior Hamas official. The army has yet to comment on the incident.

How many people have been killed in the Gaza war?

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented 2023 attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins. It has killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

How many people have died since the Gaza ceasefire?

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people since a ceasefire was announced last October, according to Gaza's health ministry. The Israeli military has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.