At least 32 people killed as Israel intensifies airstrikes in Gaza City, medical staff say

A barrage of airstrikes has killed at least 32 people in Gaza City as Israel continued intensifying its offensive there, medical staff have said.

The dead include 12 children, according to the morgue in Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.

Health officials said one of the strikes killed a family of 10, including a mother and her three children.

The Palestinian Football Association said a player for the Al-Helal Sporting Club, Mohammed Ramez Sultan, was killed with 14 members of his family.

Israel's army did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.

Israel has in recent days increased its strikes on Gaza City, having ordered residents to leave what it says is Hamas's last stronghold.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still in the city, struggling under conditions of famine, which was declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) three weeks ago. Israel previously denied there is a famine in Gaza.

Aid workers say the number of people leaving has spiked in recent weeks, but many families remain stuck due to difficulties with transportation and housing.

Others have been displaced many times and do not want to move again, not trusting that anywhere in the Strip is safe.

In a message shared on social media on Saturday, Israel's army told the remaining Palestinians in Gaza City to "leave immediately" and move south into what it is calling a humanitarian zone.

Sites in southern Gaza, where Israel is telling people to go, are overcrowded, the United Nations has said.

A spokesperson for the Israeli army said more than 250,000 people have left Gaza City - but the UN puts the number at around 100,000 between mid-August and mid-September.

The UN and aid groups have warned that displacing hundreds of thousands of people will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Read more:
Trump's 'heated call' with Netanyahu
Media groups unite against Israeli attacks

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Saturday that seven people, including children, died from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours.

Israel has said it now controls 75% of Gaza, much of which has been reduced to fields of rubble. It has vowed to take the rest.

The current conflict followed Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people and took around 250 people hostage.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,803 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health authorities. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

(c) Sky News 2025: At least 32 people killed as Israel intensifies airstrikes in Gaza City, medical staff say