Israeli strikes hit medical complex as nine killed across Gaza

Detailed summary

Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis attacked as UN appeals for urgent aid to deal with heavy rains in the enclave.

Israeli attacks have killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza, as the United Nations made an emergency appeal for waterproof tents to shelter hundreds of thousands exposed to flooding due to heavy rains.

An Israeli air attack on Wednesday killed 38-year-old Mohammed Salem al-Daash in the al-Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City.

Another Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces east of the al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, and another was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the al-Nasr neighbourhood, northwest of Gaza City.

At least two Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in a strike targeting a tent sheltering displaced people in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, described the Israeli attacks as indiscriminate targeting of civilians, saying people who were carrying on with simple attempts to survive lost their lives, such as “a man filling up a water tank, [who] was killed in a drone strike”.

“In another attack, two brothers from the al-Absi family were killed while they were sheltering inside their tent on al-Jalaa Street,” she said, adding that nowhere in Gaza was safe.

The Israeli attacks came as the UN appealed for more tents to be sent to the enclave because at least 70,000 tents were flooded in weekend rains, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.

Heavy rain has directly affected at least 106,000 people in Gaza in recent days, according to UNICEF, with thousands of tents for displaced Palestinians submerged under water and latrines overflowing into camps.

NGOs and local organisations say they do not have the resources or capacity to deal with the crisis, as Israel continues to restrict the entry of essential aid.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Al Jazeera. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.