GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, July 8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Gaza's civil defence agency on Tuesday said that 29 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory devastated by 21 months of war.

Among those were nine people killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people near Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, according to civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, a resident of the Al-Sanabel camp, told AFP: "I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children -- beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion.

"Smoke and dust filled the area. Debris and stones flew in all directions and hit our tent," she added.

"Four children who were playing in front of the neighbouring tent were injured. I saw people carrying martyrs. We don't know where death comes from, the bombings continue." 

Bassal said that 20 other people, including at least three children and two women, were killed in six other strikes on Tuesday across the Gaza Strip.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.

The military earlier announced that five of its soldiers were killed in northern Gaza and two others were severely wounded.

Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.

The war was triggered by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack resulted in 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.

Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army.

At least 57,523 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The figures are deemed reliable by the UN.