The strike hit the home of the Ajlah family in Al-Zawaida neighbourhood of central Gaza, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

"The toll from the Israeli strike on the Ajlah family home and their warehouse in Al-Zawaida is 15 dead," Bassal said.

Bassal gave a list of those killed, including nine children and three women.

The Israeli military told AFP that during the night its forces had struck "terrorist infrastructure" in central Gaza from which rockets were being fired towards Israel.

"Reports were received that as a result of the strike, civilians in an adjacent structure were killed. The incident is under review," it said in a statement.

A witness said the strike took place shortly after midnight (2100 GMT Friday).

"Three rockets hit the house directly," Ahmed Abu al-Ghoul told AFP as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble of the flattened house.

"There were a lot of children and women inside... What have they done to deserve this?"

AFPTV footage of the aftermath, captured after dawn, showed rescuers searching for bodies under piles of collapsed concrete blocks.

More than 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas has left vast swathes of Gaza in ruins.

The war broke out after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 people during the attack, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,074 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide breakdowns of civilian and militant deaths.