Israeli fire kills two young children in Gaza, medics say

CAIRO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes ‌and gunfire killed two ​young ​children and at least two other Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials in the territory said.

Medics and relatives said 10-year-old Amal Abu Khater ‌was hit by a bullet in her back while she was eating inside ⁠her family's tent in the enclave's southern city of Khan Younis. The fire came from Israeli forces to ‌the east, they added.

The Israeli military ‌said it was not aware of any incident involving a 10-year-old girl.

A four-year-old boy and another Palestinian were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes on a house in Bureij refugee ​camp and a road in Khan Younis, medics said.

Earlier on Monday, another Israeli airstrike killed one person and wounded another at a tent in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza ⁠Strip, medics said.

The Israeli military said that strike in Deir Al-Balah targeted a Hamas militant, but did not specifically respond to ​questions about the other two reported attacks in Khan Younis and Bureij.

More than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took ​effect last October, according to Gazan health officials, while ‌the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement a broader plan ⁠by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Gaza conflict, which also includes Israeli withdrawals and Hamas disarmament.

Israel says its strikes aimed to thwart imminent attacks by Hamas and other Gaza militants.

The Israeli military ⁠issued two separate evacuation orders in Beach refugee camp and Deir Al-Balah in northern and central Gaza Strip ​before it carried out airstrikes in the two areas, without reports of casualties, residents and medics said.

It also bombed a desalination plant in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, at a time when the enclave ‌is suffering water shortages, residents and Hamas said.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the military had carried out strikes on several Hamas weapons storage ‌sites throughout the day, including two inside mosques.

The spokesperson said that among the sites targeted on Monday ⁠was one located adjacent to a ‌desalination facility.

The spokesperson said the military ​had not targeted the desalination facility and did not say whether or not it had been damaged in the strike.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by ‌Andrew Heavens)

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