Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza have killed at least 17 people, including eight children, on Wednesday, according to authorities at Al Awda hospital.
Twelve were killed in a strike on Nuseirat in central Gaza, while five others were killed in several strikes elsewhere in central Gaza, hospital officials said. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
The latest strikes come amid warnings from Gaza Civil Defense that its system is on the brink of “imminent collapse” due to the loss of personnel and destroyed service vehicles, according to its spokesperson Mahmoud Basal.
The statement comes as the United Nations’ Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Tuesday of spiking food prices in the besieged enclave, with one 25-kilogram (55 pound) bag of flour costing the equivalent of $280 in Deir al Balah as of December 1. In Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, all eight bakeries are closed due to flour shortages and safety concerns caused by overcrowding, the agency added.
Meanwhile, COGAT, the Israeli agency that approves aid shipments into Gaza, said over 350 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Strip on Tuesday. A further 269 truckloads were distributed within Gaza to warehouses and shelters by the international community, according to COGAT.
