Gaza Health Officials Say Children Among 11 Killed in Israeli Strikes

A Palestinian inspects a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 July 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian inspects a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 July 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Gaza Health Officials Say Children Among 11 Killed in Israeli Strikes

A Palestinian inspects a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 July 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian inspects a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 July 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Gaza's civil defense and hospitals said Israeli attacks on Saturday killed 11 people across the territory, among them three children and their parents. 

A ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, but it has not halted the violence in Gaza, and efforts to secure a lasting agreement to end the war have stalled. 

A family of five -- three children and their parents -- were killed when an Israeli strike hit a residential apartment in northwest Gaza City, according to the territory's civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas. 

"The family's only surviving member is one child, who was not inside the house at the time of the strike," Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, told AFP. 

Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital confirmed it had received the five bodies. 

An Israeli military spokeswoman said a strike had been carried out in Gaza City on Saturday "targeting a Hamas terrorist". 

She said the military was still assessing the results. 

Gaza resident Mousa Al-Aimawi said the strike came without warning. 

"Suddenly there was a missile hitting the building. No one knew, no one, no warning, nothing," he told AFP. 

"They hit it without caring that there are civilians, children, women, girls." 

Mohammed Kali, who lives in the same building, said he saw several people lying on the ground. 

"There were bodies scattered on the ground -- women and children dead, and elderly people too," he said. 

AFP footage from the scene showed large sections of the building's facade torn away, as rescue teams helped the wounded. 

Onlookers picked through shattered concrete blocks and twisted metal, searching for any belongings that could be salvaged. 

Three more people were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a group of civilians in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, the agency reported. 

Al-Shifa hospital confirmed it had received the three bodies. 

Hours later, Bassal announced the death of a woman after "Israeli artillery shelling" struck "a tent sheltering displaced people" east of the Zeitoun neighborhood. 

Gaza's Al-Ahli Hospital confirmed it had received the body of the woman along with several wounded individuals, including her daughter. 

Several people were wounded and three others remain missing in the targeted area, the spokesman added. 

Health officials said two other people were killed elsewhere in Israeli attacks in Gaza. 

The military did not offer an immediate comment on those attacks. 

Violence has persisted despite the ceasefire. 

Before Friday's casualties, at least 1,144 Palestinians had been killed since the truce took effect last October, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. 

The Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers in Gaza over the same period, as well as one civilian contractor. 

Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there. 



Explosions at Aleppo Munitions Army Depot in Northern Syria Injures Four

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Explosions at Aleppo Munitions Army Depot in Northern Syria Injures Four

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

At least four people were injured following a series of explosions at an Aleppo army site in northern Syria early Monday, state media reported.

The cause of the explosions, which Syrian state media SANA said occurred at an "army site" in the vicinity of the town of Al-Eis, was not immediately known.

One civilian was injured by shrapnel as a result of the explosion at "an ammunition depot", SANA reported later, quoting the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management.

Two civilians suffered temporary "breathing difficulties", while another civilian was injured in a traffic accident while attempting to flee the blast area, it added.

Syria's civil defense teams transported the injured and evacuated three families from the blast site and remain on "high alert... due to the continued explosions", reported AFP.

Aleppo civil defense operations chief Faisal Mohammad Ali, quoted by the state-run Al-Ikhbariya channel, said earlier that the explosions had prevented emergency services from reaching the site swiftly.

A resident of Aleppo's Hamdaniyeh neighborhood told AFP they heard a "huge explosion" and when they went up to the roof could see "large flames in the distance".

Aleppo governor Azzam al-Gharib urged residents not to leave their homes for the time being, adding that "hospitals, ambulance and emergency teams are on full alert".

Roads leading to the site of the explosions were closed "to ensure the safety of civilians", Aleppo's Internal Security Command was quoted by SANA as saying.

Several such blasts have previously occurred in Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of civil war following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

An explosion of unknown origin killed 11 people at a military site in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Friday.

Earlier this month, an explosion at a weapons depot belonging to the Ministry of Defense killed 14 people and injured 11 in Syria's northwest Idlib province.

Five people were killed just over a week earlier in the same area when a vehicle carrying munitions exploded.


Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)

A gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan killing at least 10 people and injuring 21 others, two survivors told AFP on Sunday after overnight rescue efforts.

Shafts of the Awny mining area near Sudan's border with Egypt collapsed on Saturday.

By Sunday morning "10 bodies had been recovered and 21 injured miners pulled out", said one of the survivors who was working at the mine when it collapsed, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

Another survivor, also requesting anonymity, told AFP the rescue operation was "being carried out by the miners themselves" with little equipment available.

More miners were feared dead under the rubble and survivors said the search for the missing was ongoing.

Many young Sudanese have joined a dangerous gold rush, working in unregulated mines with their hands and rudimentary tools for meagre daily wages.

They face chemical poisoning and regular mine collapses.

Last week at least 82 people were killed and dozens injured in a collapse in the southern Kordofan region.

Artisanal and small-scale mining, which takes place in unofficial zones or decommissioned mines, accounts for the majority of gold extracted in Sudan.

Even before the war pushed nearly 20 million Sudanese into severe hunger, artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to industry figures.


CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sunday in a rare visit to Cairo, as the United States warned of rapid escalation in the Middle East war.

Sisi's office said the meeting, attended by Egypt's spy chief Hassan Rashad, discussed the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sisi stressed "the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks," according to a presidency statement.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," it warned.

Sisi's office said Ratcliffe on Sunday "lauded Egypt's pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises".