Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 21

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes today (12 December) killed 21 people including several children, hours after the UN General Assembly called for an immediate ceasefire in the devastated Palestinian territory.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Basal said Israeli warplanes targeted two homes near Nuseirat refugee camp and Gaza City.

"Fifteen killed, including at least six children, and more than 17 wounded were recovered as a result of the Israeli bombing" of a building sheltering displaced people near Nuseirat, Basal told AFP.

The bodies of six others killed in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City were transferred to hospital, along with multiple wounded people, he added.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of people and laid waste to the coastal territory in the more than 14 months since a Hamas attack on southern Israel sparked the war.

In the latest diplomatic attempt to end the violence, the UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The non-binding resolution was rejected by the United States, Israel's main military backer.

But in recent days, there have been signs that months of failed ceasefire negotiations might be revived and a breakthrough achieved.

Families of the 96 hostages who remain in Gaza -- including 34 the Israeli military says are dead -- are pressing for their release.

Militants abducted 251 hostages in their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

That count includes hostages who died or were killed while being held in Gaza.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 44,805 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to health ministry data considered reliable by the United Nations.