12 Palestinians, including 6 children, killed in Israeli airstrike on Rafah

An Israeli airstrike on a home in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday killed at least 12 Palestinians besides injuring dozens of others, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said.

Quoting medical sources, the agency said the victims in the airstrike on the Harb family home included six children.

Israeli fighter jets, artillery and gunboats also continued shelling across the besieged Palestinian enclave, causing dozens of casualties, most of them children and women.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and 49,645 others injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.

Envoys of the UN Security Council urged an end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip on Monday as they visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the enclave’s only entry point for aid.