Fresh Israeli strikes kill six in Gaza as US-Iran tensions escalate across West Asia

Palestinians search for survivors and the bodies of victims. Pic/AP

Fresh Israeli strikes in Gaza killed six people on Thursday (local time) despite a US-brokered "ceasefire," Al Jazeera reported, quoting Gaza's Civil Defence agency and health officials.

Two of the six deceased were killed after an Israeli drone struck central Gaza's Nuseirat camp, while the other four died in different parts of the region, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Civil Defence agency. Hospitals in Gaza confirmed receiving the bodies of the six people killed in the attacks.

This development comes amid fresh US strikes in Iran. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Wednesday that its forces had started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade Tehran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, following recent attacks on commercial shipping and civilian crews.

In a post shared on X, US CENTCOM stated: "At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed it had struck the US Al-Azraq air base in northern Jordan with 10 ballistic missiles, targeting what it described as an "enemy command and control centre in West Asia."

The IRGC stated these retaliatory strikes were in response to a recent attack on Tehran by Washington.

According to a statement carried by Iran's state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the IRGC said the missile strikes marked the "second phase" of its response to what it described as aggression by the United States.

"At 2:20 pm today, IRGC aerospace fighters destroyed the enemy's command and control centre in West Asia and the enemy air base in Al-Azraq, Jordan, with 10 ballistic missiles," the statement read.

The IRGC warned that further US military action would trigger additional attacks on American bases in the region. "If the US terrorist army repeats its aggression, other US bases in the region will not be safe from our heavy fire," the statement carried by IRIB added.

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