Israeli fire kills mother, 4 children in Gaza

Israeli fire yesterday hit a house in the Gaza Strip while a family was eating breakfast inside, killing six Palestinians, including a mother and four of her children, residents and medical officials said.

The deaths in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun cast another shadow on Egyptian efforts to forge a ceasefire between Israel and militant groups and end violence threatening US-brokered Palestinian statehood talks.

"This aggression does not serve efforts being exerted to achieve calm, and it obstructs the peace process," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, referring to Israel's military activities, said in a statement carried by WAFA news agency.