At least two teenagers in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israeli air raids, according to Palestinian health officials, as Israel carried out the largest daylight attack on the besieged enclave since the 2014 war.
Amir al-Nimri, 15, and Luay Kaheel, 16, died of their wounds on Saturday shortly after an airstrike targeted al-Kutaiba, an area in western Gaza, the health ministry said. Twelve others were wounded by the attack.
The al-Kutaiba square is adjacent to a park frequently visited by families over the weekend, especially during the summer months, witnesses told Al Jazeera.
“That’s why so many civilians have been hurt in the latest strike,” Maram Humaid, a journalist in Gaza, said.
In a Twitter post, the Israeli military confirmed it targeted a “high-rise building” and claimed it had “warned” residents to evacuate prior to the attack.
Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the two teenagers who lost their lives were playing on the roof of the semi-abandoned building and described a scene where “there was glass everywhere.”
Two other people were wounded in earlier Israeli air raids, which targeted several neighborhoods in Gaza, raising the total figure of those hurt to 14.
Following the attack on al-Kutaiba, a ceasefire agreement was reached through international and regional mediation efforts, Palestinian officials said on Saturday.
CAPTION: Palestinians carry the body of a young man killed by Israeli army during his funeral in the West Bank village of Beit Ummar on July 14.
