Four-day-old twins killed in airstrike as father went to get birth certificates

Newborn twins, four days old, were killed in Gaza along with their mother and grandmother when their father stepped out of the house to collect their birth certificates.

Aysal and her brother Aser were born to Mohammed Abu al Qumsan. He had left their home in Deir al Balah, central Gaza earlier in the day (13 August).

By the time he returned with the certificates, his entire family had been killed in an airstrike, reports Sky News.

His wife, pharmacist Joumana Arafa, had given birth by C-section and announced the twins' arrival on Facebook.

He had gone to register the births at a local government office this morning and while he was there, his neighbours informed him that his home had been bombed.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I am told it was a shell that hit the house."

The couple had heeded orders to evacuate Gaza City in the opening weeks of the war, seeking shelter in the centre of the territory as the army had instructed, the Associated Press reports.

The enclave's Hamas-run health minister claims at least 39,929 Palestinians have been killed and 92,240 wounded in that time, with 32 dead in the past 24 hours.

On Saturday, at least 80 people were killed and 50 others wounded in a strike on a school compound, Palestinian health authorities said - though Israel disputes the figure and said Hamas was operating there.

Gaza has been bombarded by Israel since 7 October, when Hamas - which controls the territory - stormed into southern Israel, killed around 1,200 people and took around 250 people hostage.