At least 17 Palestinians were slain in an Israeli assault in central Gaza, according to health officials

Health officials reported that in the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, an Israeli strike resulted in the deaths of at least 17 Palestinians and the injury of dozens more. Israel also issued new evacuation orders, citing Hamas rocket fire in the vicinity.

The majority of the victims were members of the same family, consisting of eight children and four women, according to health officials in the Hamas-administered enclave.

“Three missiles were launched at their location while they were asleep in their beds, including children and infants,” stated Abu Ahmed Hassan, a neighbor. “The proprietor of the residence was an acknowledged merchant,” he stated. “There are no military activities here at all,” he stated further.

In response, the Israeli military stated that it had attacked militant targets in an area from which rockets had been launched at its soldiers. It also confirmed that the incident was currently under review.

On Saturday, the military spokesperson of Israel posted instructions in Arabic on X, directing residents of certain areas of central Gaza, including the Maghazi district adjacent to Zawayda, to evacuate to a designated humanitarian zone.

From those locations, he claimed, militants were launching missiles, and the military was preparing to respond.

Reuters was unable to immediately confirm whether any sections of Zawayda were included in the evacuation order or whether the residents of the area had received the military’s instructions. It was reported by residents that thousands of individuals were departing Maghazi.

The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of two portions of the southern city of Khan Younis, which is located within a humanitarian zone that Israel has designated, on Friday. The military claimed that militants had been firing missiles from the area on a regular basis.

Around 170,000 displaced individuals were impacted by the orders issued on Friday, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). These orders also encompassed other regions of the enclave that were not within the humanitarian zones.

“This is one of the largest evacuation orders affecting the zone to date and it shrinks the size of the so-called ‘humanitarian area’ to about 41 square kilometers, or 11 per cent of the total area of the Gaza Strip,” according to an OCHA analysis.

In the central region of the enclave, residents reported that Israeli tanks continued to advance into the eastern region of Deir Al-Balah on Saturday. This area, which is currently home to hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, had not been previously invaded.

According to the Israeli military, its forces have eliminated numerous militants, including those who had launched missiles from central and southern Gaza, since Friday.

The 10-month-old Israeli offensive, which has devastated a significant portion of the 2.3 million-person Gazan population, has resulted in the displacement of the majority.

The ceasefire negotiations have been suspended.

The United States, Qatar, and Egypt, who are mediating the ceasefire negotiations in Doha, suspended them on Friday. Negotiators are scheduled to reconvene next week in order to reach an agreement that will terminate the hostilities between Israel and Hamas and release the remaining detainees.

On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to achieve a ceasefire and captive release agreement, which he believes is now within reach. However, he also cautioned that negotiations were “far from over.”

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri responded by stating that reports of an imminent agreement were “deceptive claims.”

On October 7, the militant Islamist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians, and the abduction of approximately 250 hostages, as per Israeli estimates. This event served as the catalyst for the conflict.

As per Gaza health authorities, Israel’s ensuing military campaign has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians. According to Israel, at least one-third of the Palestinian fatalities were combatants, and the country has lost 330 soldiers in Gaza.