Middle East latest: 3 young siblings under 6 killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, medics say

An Israeli attack on a house in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged six and younger, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-torn area, Palestinian medics said on Wednesday.

The Biden administration said Tuesday it will not restrict arms transfers to Israel as it has made limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Eight international aid groups had previously said Israel had failed to meet US demands greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where hunger experts say the North may already be facing famine.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. Officials do not distinguish between civilians and fighters but say more than half of the dead were women and children.

The Israel-Hamas war started after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others.

The Lebanese Hezbollah group began shooting at Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then more than 3,200 people have died in Lebanon and more than 14,200 injured, the country’s Health Ministry reported. 76 people have been killed in Israel, including 31 soldiers.

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Here’s the latest:

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medics say an Israeli attack on a house in northern Gaza has killed three siblings aged six and younger.

They were among at least six people killed Tuesday in Israeli attacks in the war-torn region, where Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than 13 months.

The Gaza Health Ministry emergency service says the three children were killed in an attack on a house near a clinic in the Jabaliya urban refugee camp, where Israel has been on an offensive for more than a month.

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, an attack hit a tent on the west side of the city, killing at least two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Another attack on a tent in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp left a man dead, the hospital said. An Associated Press journalist counted the three bodies at the hospital.

Israel says it is only targeting militants and trying to prevent harm to civilians. It accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters.

The military rarely comments on individual attacks, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 hostage. About 100 prisoners remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count, but say women and children make up more than half of the dead.

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces carried out strikes in Syria against Iran-linked militias for a second straight day on Tuesday in response to further attacks on American personnel, U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit an arms storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Shaddadi patrol base in eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the militias had also attacked U.S. personnel this weekend with a drone strike and indirect fire at another base, Green Village, where U.S. troops operate — prompting the U.S. encouraged to strike. nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

About 900 U.S. troops are deployed in Syria. No American troops were injured in either attack.

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