Middle East Latest: 3 Young Siblings Among 6 Killed In Israeli Strikes In Gaza, Medics Say

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BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said Wednesday. The Biden administration said Tuesday it won't limit weapons transfers to Israel because it has made limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Eight international aid groups had earlier said that Israel failed to meet U.S. Demands for greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where hunger experts say the north may already be experiencing famine.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children. The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Lebanon's Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then, more than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country's Health Ministry reported. In Israel, 76 people have been killed, including 31 soldiers.

Here's the latest:

3 young siblings were killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, Palestinian medics say DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medics say an Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under.

They were among at least six people killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday in the war-ravaged territory, where Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than 13 months.

The Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service says the three children were killed in a strike on a home near a clinic in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, where Israel has been waging an offensive for over a month.

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, a strike hit a tent in the western side of the city, killing at least two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Another strike on a tent in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed a man, the hospital said. An Associated Press journalist counted the three bodies at the hospital.

Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters.
The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 people hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

U.S. Forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on U.S. Personnel, U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, U.S. Forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on U.S. Personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted U.S. Personnel with a drone attack and indirect fire at another base, Green Village, where U.S. Troops are operating — which prompted the U.S. To strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.