GAZA - Three Palestinian children were wounded when an Israeli drone struck a medical facility during a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza City on Saturday, Palestinian medical sources said.
The children were taken to al-Ahli Arab hospital after the strike hit Sheikh Radwan Clinic in the northern part of the city, medical staff told Xinhua. The Israeli army has not commented on the incident yet.
The incident occurred as health workers launched an emergency polio vaccination drive for children under 10 in Gaza City. The campaign has already begun in central and southern Gaza but has been delayed in the north due to ongoing military operations.
Separately, senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq on Saturday dismissed recent proposals for a temporary pause in fighting, calling them "a mere smoke screen" that failed to address key demands including Israeli military withdrawal and the return of displaced Palestinians.
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"We engage positively with any proposals ensuring the cessation of aggression and withdrawal of Israeli forces," al-Rishq said in a statement, while accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using ceasefire talks as "cover" for continued military operations.
The comments follow a recent Qatari-American announcement about negotiations in Doha focusing on hostage release and potential ceasefire arrangements.
Meanwhile, at least 42 Palestinians were killed and over 150 injured in Israeli air and artillery bombardment on Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said on Saturday.
The Israeli army has been bombarding inhabited houses in Nuseirat with both aircraft and artillery since Friday morning, said Palestinian security sources.
The Gaza government media office condemned the strikes, describing them as the "deliberate targeting of civilians, including children and women," and called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt these actions against Gaza's civilians.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it conducted operations in Rafah and central Gaza to kill militants, dismantle militant infrastructure, and locate weapons.
READ MORE: Famine stalks Gaza amid aid curbs
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack across the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and approximately 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,314, according to a statement from Gaza-based health authorities on Saturday.
