Israeli strikes on kindergarten and homes in central and northern Gaza kill 44

The Israeli military on Thursday struck residential areas in northern and central Gaza, including a kindergarten in Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 44 people.

The attack on Old Gaza Street and Halabi Square in Jabalia targeted a kindergarten sheltering displaced families and a house belonging to the Azzam family, the Wafa news agency reported. At least six members of the family, including two children and three women, were killed in the strike.

Clips and images online showed civil defence crews using basic tools to rescue family members trapped under the rubble, due to a lack of proper search and rescue equipment.

An Israeli air strike on a home, belonging to the Qreinawi family, east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza also killed 23 people and wounded several others.

Footage obtained by Al Jazeera showed the Israeli army's bombardment of entire residential neighbourhoods in the Tal al-Zaatar area of ​​the Jabalia camp.

The Government Media Office in Gaza reported on Wednesday that more than 18,000 children are estimated to have been killed over 19 months of Israeli attacks, including 16,854 confirmed deaths.

Among the children killed, 916 were under one year old; 4,365 were aged one to five; 6,101 were between six and 12; and 5,124 were aged 13 to 17.

According to the health ministry and the civil defence, thousands more remain missing and are presumed dead beneath the rubble.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, the Israeli military has killed more than 54,000 people, the majority of them children and women, and wounded more than 123,300 people.