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Israeli strikes kill 22 in Gaza, dozens more wounded

Smoke rises from Gaza city's coast after Israeli strikes yesterday
Smoke rises from Gaza city's coast after Israeli strikes yesterday

Rescuers in Gaza have said 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said seven people were killed in a strike on a home in Jabalia, in the north.

Some people were still under the debris, he added, as "the civil defence does not have search equipment or heavy equipment to lift the rubble to rescue the wounded and recover the martyrs".

Two more people, including a woman who was seven months pregnant, were killed in an attack targeting tents sheltering displaced people around Nuseirat in central Gaza, he said, adding doctors were unable to save the unborn child.

Also included in the toll were the civil defence's director of operations Ashraf Abu Nar and his wife, who were killed in a strike on their home in Nuseirat, according to Bassal.

Fatal strikes were also recorded around Deir el-Balah in the centre of the territory, Beit Lahia in the north, and the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

In all, civil defence teams recovered "at least 22 martyrs, including a number of children, and dozens of injured" on Sunday, with a number of people still missing, Bassal said.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.

A Palestinian man and child outside a house targeted in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat camp

The military has stepped up its Gaza operations in recent days in what it has described as a renewed push to destroy Hamas.

On Saturday afternoon, the military said it had carried out strikes on more than 100 targets throughout Gaza over the past day.

Gaza's health ministry said today that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to 53,939, mostly civilians.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

A child cries as Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat camp

Malaysia slams 'double standards' on Gaza atrocities

Meanwhile, Malaysia's foreign minister has condemned "atrocities" in Gaza, saying they reflected "indifference and double standards" on the plight of the Palestinian people.

"They are a direct result of the erosion of the sanctity of international law," Mohamad Hasan told his counterparts from the regional ASEAN bloc.

Mr Mohamad's comments ahead of an ASEAN summit Monday in Kuala Lumpur come as Israel has stepped up its campaign this month in war-torn Gaza.

The bombardment has drawn international criticism, alongside calls to allow in more aid after Israel only partially eased a total blockade imposed on 2 March.

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"The atrocities committed against the Palestinian people continue to reflect indifference and double standards," he said.

"ASEAN cannot remain silent," said Mohamad, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the bloc.
Foreign ministers from the 10-member association in February asserted their "longstanding support" for Palestinian rights.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and many in the Southeast Asian country support the Palestinians.

Kuala Lumpur has channelled donations and humanitarian aid amounting to more than $10m to Palestinians in Gaza since the war erupted in October 2023.


Read more: Israel prepares to bypass UN in Gaza as aid drips in