MID: Eight family members killed in Israeli strike: medics
11 Jan 2009 2:03 AM
GAZA CITY, Jan 10 AFP - Eight members of the same Palestinian family, including a 12-year-old, were killed on Saturday by Israeli fire in the northern town of Jabaliya, medics and witnesses said.
Six other members of the Abed Rabbo family were wounded, according to medics from Kamel Adune hospital.
An Israeli army spokesman denied the incident took place, and Israel has said throughout the two-week-old conflict that it is not targeting civilians.
"We were at home when the bombing started," Umm Mohammed told AFP from inside the hospital. "We fled towards another house and the tanks started firing. Several of us were hit."
Israeli forces killed at least 22 people on Saturday, according to Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, as warplanes launched over 40 air strikes across the territory.
Since the Israeli offensive began on December 27, at least 821 people have been killed, including 235 children, 93 women and 12 paramedics, according to Hassanein.
Another 3,350 people have been wounded in the onslaught, overwhelming Gaza's beleaguered medical facilities, already weakened from an Israeli blockade of the territory in force since Hamas seized power in June 2007.
