Israeli strike kills 9 from one family

Mourners, gunmen carry bodies of those killed a day earlier. Pics/AFP

The Hamdan family - around a dozen people from three generations - fled their home in the middle of the night after the Israeli military ordered an evacuation from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

They found refuge with extended relatives in a building further north, inside an Israeli-declared safe zone. But hours after they arrived, an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday afternoon hit their building in the town of Deir al-Balah, killing nine members of the family and three others.

Some patients were shifted to safer locations in their hospital beds

In all, five children and three women were among the dead, according to hospital records and a relative who survived. Israel's order on Monday for people to leave the eastern half of Khan Younis - the territory's second-largest city - has triggered the third mass flight of Palestinians in as many months, throwing the population deeper into confusion, chaos and misery as they scramble once again to find safety.

Hisham Mhanna, the ICRC spokesperson in Gaza, said some families dragged patients in their hospital beds through the streets for up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) to reach safety.

10KM
Distance patients were moved in beds

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