An Israeli strike in central Gaza has killed at least eight people and wounded another 22, local officials said on Friday.
“Eight people were killed after Israeli warplanes struck a gathering of civilians in the Al-Balata market area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza,” reported Gaza’s civil defense agency, which functions as a rescue service under Hamas.
The Al-Awda hospital said it received the eight dead and 22 people wounded in the strike.
The AFP news agency reported that the strike took place during a funeral procession and cited civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal with the information.
Israel’s military (IDF) said it had struck a “terrorist cell” from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter group and that it was aware civilians may have been harmed in the strike.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck a terrorist cell of the Islamic Jihad fighter organization in the central Gaza Strip,” the military said.
“The IDF is aware of the claims that several uninvolved individuals were harmed as a result of the strike. The results of the strike are under review.”
