A strike in Deir al Balah, south of Gaza City, reduced a house to rubble, killing nine members of the family living there, mostly women and children. Three members of another family that had evacuated from Gaza City were killed in a neighbouring home. Witnesses said there was no warning before the strike.

In Khan Younis, in a neighbourhood just a few hundred metres away from Nasser Hospital, Samiha Zoarab looked around at the destruction in shock as children rummaged through the piles of debris and detritus around a levelled home, which lies within a dense cluster of buildings. 

At least four people from the same family were killed in the attack, locals said. “There are only two survivors,” Zoarab said.

Since the Isarel-Hamas war began, at least 2,750 Palestinians – mostly civilians – have also been killed, entire neighbourhoods have been razed and survivors are left with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel.