Palestinian hospital officials say Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip have killed at least five people.
Among those killed in the strikes overnight and into Thursday were two children, identified in hospital records as Sham Najjar, 6, and Jamal Nabahan, 8.
More than half of the territory’s population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in Rafah, where Israel has conducted near-daily raids as it prepares for an offensive in the city.
In central Gaza, four people were killed in Israeli tank shelling, and their bodies were brought to a local hospital. Family members told The Associated Press they were killed as they tried to move to northern Gaza, where Israel’s military is preventing people from returning to their homes.
Meanwhile, a top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
Forsberg and Beauvillier each get a goal and an assist and Predators knock off Canucks 4
Action movie The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon stays atop China's box office chart
Highlights of Hangzhou Asian Games
In pics: sailing race at 19th Asian Games
Wednesday casts Thandiwe Newton in highly
Traditional Ewenki handicrafts hot souvenirs amid thriving winter tourism
Scenery of Wudalianchi UNESCO Global Geopark in NE China's Heilongjiang
Holistic pursuit of national security lays solid groundwork for China's rejuvenation cause
Khloe Kardashian surprises her daughter True, 6, with second cat as a birthday gift
Scheffler turns the Masters into another Sunday yawner with a dominating win
Biden pardons 11 people and shortens the sentences of 5 others convicted of non
China releases typical cases endangering national security