GAZA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Seven Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Sunday when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.

Marwan Al-Hams from the Gaza-based health authorities told Xinhua that the bodies of the seven people, including a boy and a girl, were brought to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, adding that field hospitals in Mawasi also treated nine others injured by the airstrike.

A security source and eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli airstrike ignited flames in the densely packed tents.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Sunday that the Air Force conducted an intelligence-based strike on a Hamas militant operating in the humanitarian area in Khan Younis.

The Mawasi area, stretching along the Mediterranean coast from western Rafah to the outskirts of Nuseirat, is designated by the Israeli army as a safe zone for Gaza residents.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,259, according to the update of Gaza-based health authorities on Sunday. ■