Dozens killed and wounded by Israeli strike on home in Gaza

Israeli warplanes carried out more strikes in northern Gaza yesterday, reportedly destroying a home in the Jabaliya area that had been under siege for weeks, killing and wounding dozens, including many women and children.

- Jason Burke

The death toll is one of the biggest in a single strike so far in Jabaliya, where hundreds of people have died since a major Israeli operation in the area began last month.

Gaza's civil defence agency said 25 people had died in the pre-dawn attack, including 13 children, while another 30 people were reported to have been wounded.

Dr Fadel Naim, the director of the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City which received bodies after the strike, said the death toll was 17, including nine women, but the total was likely to rise as rescue efforts continued. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, and Hamas media put the number of people killed at 32. There was no immediate confirmation of the tally from the territory's health ministry.

Israel's military said it hit "infrastructure" in which militants were operating and "posed a threat" to troops in the area. "Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians," a military spokesperson said.

Anas al-Sharif, a reporter for Al Jazeera, said the home that was destroyed in the raid belonged to the Aloush family, adding that no civil defence agencies or ambulances had been able to reach the area due to the Israeli siege and local people were still searching for more victims.

United Nations officials said the last civil defence post in Jabaliya was destroyed in a strike more than a week ago, leaving the area without any effective rescue service.