Israeli strikes kill a family of 8 in Gaza and destroy a century-old market in Lebanon

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said Sunday, as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants in the territory's north and airstrikes destroyed a century-old market in southern Lebanon.

The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken.

It said a further seven people were wounded, including two women and a child in critical condition. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies.

A year into the war with Hamas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas and other armed groups because they operate in densely populated areas. In recent months, it has repeatedly struck schools being used as shelters by displaced people, accusing militants of hiding among them.

Israel is waging air and ground campaigns against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when. Iran supports both militant groups and has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.

In northern Gaza, Israeli air and ground forces have been attacking Jabaliya, where the military says militants have regrouped. Over the past year, Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to the built-up refugee camp, which dates back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, and other areas.

Israel has ordered the full evacuation of northern Gaza, including Gaza City. An estimated 400,000 people remain in the north after a mass evacuation ordered in the opening weeks of the war. The Palestinians fear Israel intends to permanently depopulate the north to establish military bases or Jewish settlements there. The United Nations says no food has entered northern Gaza since Oct. 1.

The military confirmed Saturday that hospitals were included in the evacuation orders but said it had not set a specific timetable and was working with local authorities to facilitate the transfer of patients.

Dr. Mohamed Salha, director of Al Awda Hospital, said it was among three hospitals in the north that had received small shipments of fuel that would last for a matter of days. He said they also need medical supplies as casualties continue to stream in, requiring 12 to 15 surgeries each day at his facility alone.

Fares Abu Hamza, an official with the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service, said there are a “large number of martyrs” still uncollected from the streets and under the rubble.

“We are unable to reach them,” he told The Associated Press, adding that street dogs are eating some of the remains.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's bombardment and ground invasions of Gaza have killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and left much of the territory in ruins. Palestinian medical officials do not say whether those killed by Israeli forces are militants or civilians, but say women and children make up over half the fatalities. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

Israeli airstrikes destroyed an Ottoman-era market in the southern city of Nabatiyeh overnight, killing at least one person and wounding four more. Lebanon's Civil Defense said it battled fires in 12 residential buildings and 40 shops in the market, which dates back to 1910.

“Our livelihoods have all been leveled to the ground,” said Ahmad Fakih, whose corner shop was destroyed.

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets in the city, without elaborating.

Rescuers were searching for survivors and remains in the pancaked buildings early Sunday as Israeli drones buzzed overhead. Nabatiyeh was one of dozens of communities across southern Lebanon that Israel has warned people to evacuate, even as the city hosts people who have already fled.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas, began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, drawing retaliatory airstrikes. The conflict dramatically escalated in September with a wave of Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground operation into southern Lebanon earlier this month.

In a separate incident, the Lebanese Red Cross said paramedics were searching for casualties in the wreckage of a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Sunday when a second strike left four paramedics with concussions and damaged two ambulances.

It said the rescue operation had been coordinated with U.N. peacekeepers, who informed the Israeli side. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israeli forces have repeatedly fired upon first responders and U.N. peacekeepers since the start of the ground operation. The military has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to ferry fighters and weapons and says Hezbollah operates in the vicinity of the peacekeepers, without providing evidence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for the peacekeepers to heed Israel's warnings to evacuate, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah after Israeli strikes wounded five peacekeepers in recent days.

“We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,” he said in a video addressed to the U.N. secretary-general, who has been banned from entering Israel.

Israel has long accused the United Nations of being biased against it and relations have plunged further since the start of the war in Gaza. It has accused the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees of having been infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the agency denies.

At least 2,255 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict, including more than 1,400 people since September, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were Hezbollah fighters. At least 54 people have been killed in the rocket attacks on Israel, nearly half of them soldiers.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.

Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Workers unload Saudi medical aid boxes arriving at Beirut International airport, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Workers unload Saudi medical aid boxes arriving at Beirut International airport, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Workers unload Saudi medical aid boxes arriving at Beirut International airport, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Workers unload Saudi medical aid boxes arriving at the Beirut International airport, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah rescue workers search for victims amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A Hezbollah rescue worker searches for victims amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Destroyed shops and a mosque are seen on a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Destroyed shops are seen in front of a Hezbollah fighter statue on a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in NAbatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A Hezbollah firefighter hoses down on burned and destroyed shops at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove the rubble of destroyed buildings on a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man walks in front of destroyed buildings on a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese citizens watch the destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers stand on the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in NAbatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A Hezbollah rescue worker, left, and a Lebanese Civil Defence worker, right, stand on the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in NAbatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers search for victims on the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man walks amid destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, are seen in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese man Ahmad Fakih checks his destroyed coffeeshop at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers search for victims amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers search for victims on a destroyed building at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah rescue workers search for victims on the rubble of destroyed buildings at commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes, in NAbatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan dropped a number of players including Babar Azam on Sunday as it rung in the changes for the remaining two test matches against England after suffering a historic innings and 47 runs defeat in the first test at Multan.

Babar, who hasn’t scored a half century in his last 18 test innings, was also released from the 16-member squad along with fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and reserve wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed.

“We’ve had to carefully consider current form of the player and the urgency to bounce back in the series,” said Aqib Javed, one of the members of the selection committee. “In the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi.”

Javed said that the “break from international cricket” will help the rested players to regain their fitness, confidence and composure.

“They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket,” Javed said. “We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger.”

Uncapped Haseebullah replaced Sarfaraz as Pakistan also brought in spinners Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mahmood to counter England’s top-order batters in the remaining two test matches with slow bowlers. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was ruled out of the series after he was hospitalized during the first test due to fever.

Pakistan is planning to play the second test on the same pitch where it became the first team to lose a test match after posting 500-plus runs in the first innings. Harry Brook’s scintillating triple century and Joe Root’s patient 262 helped England amass 823-7 declared as Pakistan capitulated for 220 in the second innings inside the first session on the fifth and final day to trail 1-0 in the series.

Another uncapped player, Kamran Ghulam, who has been scoring consistently in domestic cricket, will likely replace Babar at No. 4 and make his debut in the second test, starting Tuesday.

Pakistan has failed to claim 20 wickets in five of its last six test matches with captain Shan Masood losing all six games. Both Afridi and Naseem were among six Pakistan bowlers to concede more than 100 runs in England's record-breaking first-innings score at Multan that was reached at a rate of more than five runs an over.

Since scoring 161 against New Zealand at Karachi in December 2022, Babar has struggled in red-ball cricket — both at home and abroad. His top score of 41 came against Australia at Melbourne last year. Babar also struggled in the previous home series against Bangladesh, scoring only 64 in four innings before he made 30 and 5 in the first test against England.

It had been a turbulent year for Babar since he was recalled as white-ball captain earlier in 2024. Pakistan could win only against Ireland in a bilateral T20 series before making an early exit from the T20 World Cup after losing group matches to the United States and archrival India.

Babar quit the white-ball captaincy earlier this month, saying he wanted to focus on his batting. However, Pakistan’s premier batter struggled against England on a flat wicket in Multan where three of his teammates – captain Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique and Salman Ali Agha — scored centuries in the first innings.

The Pakistan Cricket Board reconstituted its selection committee hours after Pakistan lost the first test, including Javed, former ICC umpire Aleem Dar, former captain Azhar Ali and analyst Hasan Cheema.

Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, center, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of England's Zak Crawley during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Naseem Shah bowls during the second day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Chris Woakes, left, appeals successful LBW out of Pakistan's Babar Azam, right, during the first day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Babar Azam looks back after his dismissal during the fourth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Babar Azam reacts as he walks off the field after his dismissal during the fourth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Babar Azam looks during the third day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)