Tel Aviv, May 19 (IANS/DPA): At least 24 people have been killed in an Israeli attack in the refugee camp of Nuseirat in the central part of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian reports.

The health authority, controlled by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, said on Sunday that at least 24 Palestinians were killed when a residential building was hit by an attack during the night.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said that the report was being investigated.

Moreover, a senior member of the Hamas police and his companion have also been killed in another targeted attack by Israel in the central Gaza Strip.

At the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, further south, grieving relatives could be seen next to bodies in white bags.

Last month, the Israeli army was deployed in Nuseirat for a week and then withdrew again. Residents reported enormous destruction.

The Israeli military repeatedly speaks of operations against terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in various parts of the Gaza Strip.

The war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by militants from Hamas and other groups in Israel on October 7.

According to the health authorities, 35,386 Palestinians have been killed so far in the ensuing war, although the number, which is almost impossible to verify independently, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.