Israel hits Gaza as tensions surge on Lebanon border

GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories), June 14 (AFP/Reuters): Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Friday as truce talks with Hamas militants failed to progress and tensions surged on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
Witnesses reported the strikes in various parts of the Gaza Strip in the morning, particularly the centre.
At Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, men gathered over the body of an 11-year-old boy who died during bombardment of nearby Bureij refugee camp.
In a black singlet, the child lay on a floor smeared with fresh blood, a white bandage covering the top half of his face, AFP images showed.
Israel's military on Friday said troops continued operations in central Gaza, where warplanes had struck a militant cell and "military structure" in the Zeitun area.
After projectiles were fired from northern Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday night, artillery and aircraft hit the launch sites, the army said.
The war began after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages. Of these, 116 remain in Gaza, although the army says 41 are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has left at least 37,232 people dead in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Meanwhile, Washington will impose sanctions on an Israeli group on Friday for attacking humanitarian aid convoys bound for starving civilians in Gaza, U.S. officials told Reuters, in the latest move targeting actors Washington believes threaten the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The sanctions will target Tsav 9, a group with ties to Israeli army reservists and Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, over activities including blocking, harassing and damaging aid shipments.
Palestinians have been desperately in need of aid as Israel continues its eight-month invasion and bombardment, which has killed at least 37,000 people, according to the territory's health ministry. Israel has also faced accusations of blocking aid, which it denies doing.