Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 50, Palestinian officials say

BBC:

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials and first responders say.

Nine people died in the morning when a missile hit a police station in the market area of Jabalia town, in the north, a hospital said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck a “command-and-control centre” for Hamas and its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jabalia that was being used to plan attacks.

The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said 23 more people were killed later when a family home in Jabalia’s Ard Halawa area was bombed. The IDF said it struck “a key Hamas terrorist who posed a significant threat” to its troops, without identifying him.

It added that precise munitions were used and that steps had been taken to mitigate the risk to civilians, while also accusing Hamas of exploiting civilians as human shields.

The Civil Defence initially reported that 12 people were killed in the strike, but increased the death toll on Friday after its first responders recovered another 11 bodies overnight.