ISRAELI air strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and also destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment that had been supplied by mediators to clear rubble.

Israel’s 18-month offensive against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and the territory already had a shortage of heavy equipment to rescue people from the rubble left by Israeli strikes and to clear vital roads.

A local council in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza said a strike had destroyed nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and Qatar, which helped broker the ceasefire that took hold in January.

Israel ended the truce last month, renewing its bombardment and ground operations and sealing Gaza’s two million Palestinians off from all deliveries of essentials such as food, fuel and medical supplies.

The strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups, along with a lorry used to pump sewage, the Jabaliya al-Nazla municipality said.

Early today, an Israeli air strike destroyed a multistorey home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing nine people, including four women and four children. The dead included a two-year-old girl and her parents.

“They were asleep, sleeping in God’s peace. They had nothing to do with anything,” said Awad Dahliz, the dead girl’s grandfather. “What is the fault of this innocent child?”

A separate strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp killed three children and their parents.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza Health Ministry, since being launched in response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023.

On Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society condemned Israel’s probe into the killings of 15 medical workers last month, calling it a “fabricated investigation.”

The army said on Sunday that it had found “professional failures” and had dismissed a deputy commander.

However, the Red Crescent said the investigation underscored “the occupation’s persistence in shielding the truth from the world.”

It accused Israel of making “fallacious allegations” that medical rescue teams are part of Hamas and asked why Israel continued to detain a paramedic who survived the attack.

In Lebanon, a Israeli drone strike south-east of Beirut killed Muslim Brotherhood member Hussein Atwi.

The Health Ministry said another person had died in an Israeli strike on the southern province of Tyre.