At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, have been killed in the Gaza a day before a Rafah border crossing is expected to open

At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, have been killed in the Gaza a day before a Rafah border crossing is expected to open.

Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since an October agreement aimed at stopping the fighting.

The strikes hit locations in northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals which received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two families.

Their bodies were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

In Gaza City, emergency services reported that at least five Palestinians, including three children, were killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment building in the Remal neighbourhood to the west of the city.

Eight Palestinians were also injured in an Israeli bombing of an apartment building in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Gaza’s Government Media Office says at least 524 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since a United States-brokered ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on October 10.