Air raids in Gaza kill at least 30 people

Palestinians check the destruction after an Israeli strike in a refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Pic/AFP

At least 30 people, including children, were killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes overnight and into Friday morning, said hospital staff, as air sirens sounded across Israel and stalled ceasefire talks were set to resume.

Staff at the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital said more than a dozen women and children were killed in strikes that hit various places in Central Gaza, including Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah. Dozens of people were also killed across the enclave the previous day, bringing the total of people killed in the past 24 hours to 56.

Strikes on Thursday hit Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone. Israelis also woke up to attacks early on Friday morning. Israel said missiles were fired into the country from Yemen, which set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel and sent people scrambling to shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, though a faint explosion, likely either from the missile or from interceptors, could be heard in Jerusalem. Israel's army said a missile was intercepted.

Meanwhile, efforts at ceasefire negotiations were expected to resume on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had authorised a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency and the military to continue negotiations in Qatar. The delegation left for Qatar on Friday. The US-led talks have repeatedly stalled during 15 months of war, which has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

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