While the media’s glare in the Middle East this past week was diverted to Iran’s dramatic missile and drone attack on Israel, there has been no let-up in fighting in Gaza.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed daily – including many children, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry. It now says Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza since the start of the war.

As Israel’s forces continue with their efforts to destroy Hamas, they have conducted small-scale, often deadly operations, from the top to the bottom of the territory over the past week.

On Tuesday, in the middle of Gaza, relatives clutching limp and bloodstained bodies of small boys and girls rushed from al-Maghazi refugee camp to al-Aqsa Martyrs’ hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah.

Medics at the hospital said that at least 12 people were killed and some 30 injured by shelling in al-Maghazi.

“They were playing in the street. Why were they struck? They weren’t in any position close to Israeli forces,” one man told the BBC. Another added: “They were just playing. They were in the market with people coming and going normally.”

Israel’s military has not commented on what happened there, but this week in Gaza the central refugee camps have been its main focus. It said it was “eliminating terrorists and destroying terrorist infrastructure” such as attack tunnels and military compounds used by armed Hamas fighters in “precise” action.

After Israeli forces were reported to have left another camp, Nuseirat, late on Wednesday, residents began trickling back to inspect the damage to their homes.

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