CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters): Dozens of Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Saturday in air strikes by Israel, said Palestinian media, after the U.S. urged Israel to scale down its military campaign and narrowly target Hamas leaders.
At least 14 people died from air strikes that hit two houses on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia and dozens more were killed in a separate air strike that hit another home in Jabalia, according to the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.
WAFA also reported that a large number of civilians were trapped under rubble.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
With intense ground fighting across the length of the Gaza Strip and aid organisations warning of a humanitarian catastrophe, the United States has warned that Israel risks losing international support because of “indiscriminate” air strikes killing Palestinian civilians.
Israel has killed close to 19,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities, with thousands more feared buried under rubble.
Israel’s military said on Friday it killed three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza after wrongly identifying them as a threat.
The military expressed condolences to the families of the hostages killed during combat, saying there would be “full transparency” in an investigation into the incident.
