12 dead in Israeli attack in the “security zone” of Deir al-Balah

Areas in central Gaza came under Israeli bombardment on Wednesday morning after 12 civilians were killed on Tuesday in Deir al-Balah, an Israeli-declared “safe zone.”

Nine members of the Hamdan family, including women and children, were killed along with three others after they fled Khan Younis on evacuation orders and were killed in an airstrike on a building in the northern city, the news agency reports. AP reported.

Up to 250,000 Palestinians have been displaced by recent Israeli evacuation orders, as the war drags on for nearly nine months. Israel also invaded the southern city of Khan Younis again on Monday, ostensibly to target members of Islamic Jihad.

According to local reports, at least two people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza; the northwestern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp was also shelled.

Meanwhile, the UN continues to warn of catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza: 80 percent of Palestinians are displaced and suffer from widespread disease, hunger and a collapsed health system.