Israeli strike kills 5 in Gaza City, health officials say

An Israeli strike on a minibus in Gaza City killed five people on Wednesday, Gaza's civil defense agency and Al-Shifa hospital said. The strike hit the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood southwest of the city.

What happened in the Israeli strike on Gaza City?

Two missiles fired by Israeli drones hit a passenger minibus in Tel al-Hawa, according to civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal. He said the bus carried civilians between Gaza City and central and southern Gaza. Five people were killed and 20 wounded, including children and women. Its front was destroyed and it burned completely.

Bassal, whose agency operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, gave the toll to AFP. "There were five martyrs and 20 wounded, including a number of children and women... as a result of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a passenger bus in Tel al-Hawa," he said.

What did Al-Shifa hospital say about the strike?

Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital confirmed that five bodies and several wounded people arrived at the facility. It said they came following an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle near the destroyed cabinet headquarters in Tel al-Hawa. AFP has contacted the Israeli military for a response.

How many people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire?

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 74,000 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The ministry is under Hamas authority, and the United Nations considers its figures reliable. Israeli forces have killed more than 1,400 people since a ceasefire was announced last October, according to the ministry. The Israeli military has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as one civilian contractor.