Gaza horror as Israeli air strike victims 'burned to death' in fresh wave of attacks

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed - including 11 believed burned to death - in ferocious attacks across Gaza. Horrific imagery of bodies being pulled out of a rubbled housing complex in Khan Younis, in the Strip’s south, showed the scale of the morning air-strikes.

An attack early on Tuesday destroyed a multistory home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing nine, including four women and four children. The dead included a 2-year-old girl and her parents and the early morning attacks were part of a widening to try and and wipe out Hamas and force the release of hostages.

Awad Dahliz, the slain girl's grandfather said: "They were asleep, sleeping in God's peace. They had nothing to do with anything. What is the fault of this innocent child?" A further 60 Gazans were wounded in the attack and rescuers were desperately scrambling to rescue survivors buried under the wreckage.

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It is not known if the 11 burned to death, according to Gaza reports included the nine in the multi-storey home. The enclave’s Health Ministry said: “A number of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, unable to be reached by ambulances and civil defence crews.”

Tuesday’s pre-dawn strikes hit a local authority building with a parking garage containing nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and , which were destroyed. The vehicles were provided as part of the truce which ended last month and were intended for rescue operations to dig people out of bombed buildings.

at least 51,266 people and wounded 116,991, whilst the number killed since Israel broke the ceasefire last month is 1,890 Palestinians and wounded 4,950. Israel’s blockade has stopped the flow of medical aid into the besieged enclave since early March, with the of a deepening humanitarian collapse.

Another alarming emergency is the risk of disease permanently crippling children in Gaza with the , putting more than half a million at risk. Much of the disease risk is caused by poor nutrition and unclean drinking water.

Separate strikes on Tuesday killed two people in , according to local reports. Israel's 18-month offensive against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, raising fears that much of it may never be rebuilt. The territory already had a shortage of heavy equipment, which is also needed to rescue people from the rubble after Israeli strikes and to clear vital roads.

Tuesday’s strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups, and a truck used to pump sewage in Jabaliya al-Nazla, in Gaza’s north. Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group operates in densely populated areas.

A separate strike in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp killed three children and their parents, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. War began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people hostage. They are still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Qatari and Egyptian peace negotiators have submitted fresh Gaza ceasefire proposals to end the Israel-Hamas War. It would see a ceasefire for five to seven years, all Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and a full stop to the fighting.

Hamas is open to this proposal but has rejected the latest Israeli suggestion which pushed for the release of ten hostages in exchange for a 45 day ceasefire. Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire.

Israel has said it will keep fighting until the hostages are returned and Hamas has been either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes across Lebanon despite reaching a ceasefire with the in November.

Israel says it is targeting militants and weapons caches. says 190 people have been killed and 485 wounded since the ceasefire took hold. Hezbollah began firing on Israel the day after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Israel responded with airstrikes, and the conflict in Lebanon escalated into a full-blown war in September when Israel carried out a heavy wave of strikes and killed most of Hezbollah's top leadership.