12 family members die in Gaza
2009-01-06 16:10
Gaza City - At least 12 members of the same extended family, including seven children, were killed in an Israeli air strike on their house in Gaza City, medics and witnesses said on Tuesday.
The bodies of the Daya family were pulled from the rubble of a house in Gaza City's southern neighbourhood of Zeitun, which was hit by two Israeli missiles overnight, according to witnesses.
They included seven children aged one to 12 years, three women and two men.
A passerby was also killed in the strike and at least nine other people were believed to still be buried under the rubble.
Rescue workers arrived on the scene several hours after the strike.
According to witnesses, one member of the family, Abu Hamza, is a Hamas member and lived in the building of seven apartments, but left the structure with his wife and children at the start of the Israeli offensive on December 27.