GAZA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting an aid distribution center in central Gaza, Palestinian security and medical sources said Thursday.
Security sources told Xinhua that an Israeli aircraft targeted the center in the east of Deir al-Balah city with a missile.
The bodies of the dead, along with several other wounded, had been transported to the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the city, medical sources said.
Meanwhile, Gaza's health authorities warned on Thursday the suspension of health services at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the coming hours due to fuel depletion, leaving dozens of patients at risk of death.
The authorities said in a statement that it has appealed for the immediate delivery of fuel to hospitals, but to no avail.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.
The majority of the population in the Gaza Strip suffer from a lack of food, medicine, and basic humanitarian needs since the outbreak of the war. UN agencies have warned of dire consequences in the enclave, including famine and the spread of epidemics and diseases among the local population. ■
