Israeli strikes kill five Palestinians in Gaza, health officials say

Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday 30 September, the territory's health officials said, according to Reuters. 1 AFP reported that an Israeli airstrike on a minibus killed five people in the Tel al-Hawa area southwest of Gaza City, according to the civil defence agency and a hospital. 2 Civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said 20 people were also wounded, including children and women, and that the bus was carrying civilians between Gaza City and central and southern Gaza. 2

He said two missiles fired by Israeli drones hit the vehicle, destroying its front and burning it completely. 2 Al-Shifa hospital confirmed that five bodies and several wounded people arrived after a strike on a vehicle near the destroyed cabinet headquarters in Tel al-Hawa. 2 AFP said it had contacted the Israeli military for comment; no Israeli response is given in the coverage of this strike. 2

The strikes come during a ceasefire announced last October, which has not stopped deadly attacks: Gaza's health ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 1,400 people since then. 2 AFP says the ministry, which is under Hamas authority, puts the war's toll at more than 74,000 and that the UN considers its figures reliable. The Israeli military has reported five deaths in its ranks since the ceasefire, plus one civilian contractor. 2