Israeli airstrike kills 76 members of one Gaza family

Gaza, The Gulf Observer: An Israeli airstrike has killed 76 members of an extended family, rescue officials have said, a day after the UN chief warned again that nowhere is safe in Gaza and that Israel’s ongoing offensive is creating “massive obstacles” to the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Friday’s strike on a building in Gaza City was among the deadliest of Israel’s war on the besieged enclave, now in its 12th week, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defence department.

He provided a partial list of the names of those killed — 16 heads of households from the al Mughrabi family — and said the dead included women and children.

Among the dead were Issam al Mughrabi, a veteran employee of UN Development Program, his wife, and their five children.

Palestinian authorities have reported heavy shelling across several cities in Gaza.

The health ministry said 18 people were killed in a strike on a house in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, as other targets were hit up and down the strip.

The ministry also said that more than 400 people had been killed in Israeli bombardments over 48 hours.