Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 Palestinians in Gaza, health officials said

Israeli strikes in the northern and central Gaza Strip on Wednesday killed at least 31 Palestinians, most of them in the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern part of the enclave, medics said.

Health officials say an Israeli airstrike on a house in Beit Lahiya killed at least 22 people, including women and children. Relatives wrote the names of the deceased on social media.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said at least 30 people were living in the multi-storey building before it was hit, adding that several family members remained missing as rescue operations continued in the morning.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.

Earlier on Wednesday, at least seven Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics told Reuters.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said two more people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City.

In the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces have been operating since October, health officials said Israeli airstrikes killed and wounded several people. Rescuers said many people were trapped under the rubble of the house.

The Israeli military said in a statement that two rockets fired from the center of the Gaza Strip entered Israel, but fell in open areas and were uninjured. It showed the ability of Gaza terrorists to continue to launch rocket attacks despite 14 months of Israeli air and military attacks.

Israeli forces have been operating in Beit Hanoun, the nearby town of Beit Lahiya, and the Jabalia refugee camp since Oct. 5, fighting Hamas terrorists who attack in those areas and preventing them from meeting.

Palestinian officials and residents accuse Israel of demolishing two towns and a refugee camp on the enclave's northern edge to create a safe zone, something Israel denies.

Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli border communities 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 people back to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli military operation since then has killed more than 44,400 Palestinians and injured dozens more. Palestinian emergency officials estimate that the bodies of 10,000 people may be trapped under the rubble, bringing the death toll to more than 50,000.