ISRAELI air strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least another 20 Palestinians, local medics said today.

This comes as Palestinians in the northern West Bank town of Jenin walked out in a general strike over a crackdown by Palestinian authorities.

One of the Israeli air strikes hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children, according to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies.

The Israeli military claims that it only strikes militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians. 

It said late on Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas resistance fighter in the humanitarian zone.

Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas-led fighters launched a surprise attack on October 7 2023 during which 1,139 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

More than 45,000 Palestinians are known to have been killed by Israeli military action. Women and children make up more than half the dead.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in the occupied northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by resistance groups to protest against a crackdown by Palestinian security forces.

Eyewitnesses in Jenin report gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. 

There were no reports of Israeli troops in the area.

Shops were closed in the city today, the day after resistance fighters killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.

Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognised but resented by many Palestinians, in part because it co-operates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.

The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says that it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centres in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Middle East War and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.

Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. 

Violence has soared in the West Bank with the Israelis mounting numerous raids and taking scores of Palestinian prisoners.