Israeli attacks on Gaza residential areas kill at least 29

Israeli attacks on the north and centre of the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip have killed dozens of people, medical sources say.

The Israeli army in the early hours of Wednesday bombed a residential building in Beit Lahiya, near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which has been under an even tighter siege for more than two months.

The attack killed at least 20 people, including women and children, but there were fears the death toll could rise. Local media reports said at least 30 displaced people were living in the multistorey home of the Abu Tarabish family before it was struck.

Footage seen by Al Jazeera showed people using their bare hands trying to remove large pieces of concrete from the ruins of the bombed structure. One child’s body was removed from the rubble.

Later in the day, another attack on a residential home in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp killed at least seven people, all members of the same family.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said another two people were killed by an Israeli air raid on a house in Gaza City.

‘No letup’ in Israeli attacks amid truce efforts

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the latest deadly attacks come amid “a deepening humanitarian crisis”.

“There are no basic supplies available, markets are depleted and the crisis keeps continuing to evolve in a devastating way,” he added, all the while there is “no letup” in the Israeli bombardment.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, whose attacks on Gaza over the past 14 months have killed nearly 45,000 people and wounded more than 100,000.

Israel launched its ferocious military campaign after an estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during attacks led by the Palestinian armed group Hamas on October 7 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

The renewed attacks are taking place as efforts to reach a ceasefire are under way in Egypt.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is heading to Israel this week for talks on on a truce deal in Gaza, among others.

Sullivan will meet Israeli officials to discuss “efforts to reach a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza, the latest developments in Syria, and for discussions about Lebanon and Iran,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said.