Gaza civil defence says Israeli airstrike on apartment block kills five

Gaza's civil defence agency has said five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment block. Four of the dead were women, according to the agency. The reported deaths come amid a severe humanitarian situation in the territory.

After three years of conflict, children in Gaza are being offered some respite through swimming. An academy is running special classes for children who have lost limbs in Israeli attacks. The lessons are intended to help rebuild broken lives, with water used as therapy.

One 15-year-old boy, Mahmoud, said his mood had improved. In the water, he said, he knows how to dive, swim, float and do everything. Outside the water, he said, he cannot do much and just sits around. A 13-year-old, Abdul Rahman, was hit by shrapnel in an airstrike near his shelter. He said he stopped playing, moving around, walking and going out with friends. Swimming, he said, gives him freedom and he swims well.

The United Nations says Gaza now has the highest concentration of child amputees relative to its population. One coach hopes to inspire his students. Nur ad-Din Kashkash lost his leg after being wounded by Israeli fire early in the war. He said it would not stop him pursuing his goals. He described himself as a living example: once an ordinary person with two legs, now a person with one leg, who was able to change. As long as he can do it, he said, he can help bring about change.

The pool used for the classes is one of the few left intact in Gaza. There are not the usual swimming aids. Israel tightly restricts what is allowed into the strip, saying it does so for security. Instructors make do, using sandbags in the sea to create a safer, shallow area. Many children are displaced in tents on the coast, and the classes can turn the sea from a place of danger into a welcome escape.

One child said she had been scared of the sea until she learned to swim, and wants to become a swimming teacher because swimming is wonderful. Thousands of Gazan children have been taking lessons. For those who have lost loved ones, the programme is desperately needed therapy. Some have completely lost their families. Instructors try to change how the children perceive life after the horrors they have seen. While there is always a return to Gaza's harsh realities, at least some cares have been washed away.