Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza, including child

JERUSALEM: Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to health officials.

Medics said a nine-year-old boy, Adel Al Najjar, was killed by an Israeli drone strike in eastern Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave. In a separate incident, an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle in Gaza City, killing four people, medics said.

The Israeli military said the strike in Khan Younis targeted a person it said had posed a threat to Israeli troops by approaching the yellow line that marks the part of Gaza occupied by Israel. It did not provide evidence that the individual had posed any threat.

Regarding the Gaza City strike, the Israeli military said it had targeted what it described as a terrorist. It also did not provide evidence for that claim.

Child killed in Khan Younis

At the morgue of Nasser Hospital, relatives gathered to say goodbye to Adel Al Najjar. His body, wrapped in a small white shroud, was placed on a medical stretcher on the floor.

Women wept beside the body, while men performed a special prayer before carrying him to the cemetery for burial.

Relatives said the boy had been collecting cardboard for his family to use as cooking fuel when he was killed.

Separate strike in Gaza City

In Gaza City, medics said an Israeli air strike targeted a vehicle and killed four people.

The two incidents took place on the same day and were reported by health officials and medics in Gaza, while the Israeli military issued its account of the strikes separately.

The military described the Khan Younis target as an individual who approached the yellow line and posed a threat to Israeli troops, but no evidence was presented to support that assertion.

The deaths added to the toll from continued Israeli strikes in Gaza, where separate accounts from medics and the Israeli military outlined the circumstances of the attacks on Tuesday.