Eight Palestinians, including girl, pulled out of rubble in Gaza after Israel destroys their home

Eight Palestinian bodies were pulled out of the rubble after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the besieged Gaza Strip as its deadly assault raged on.

A child, two women and four men, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday night that levelled a house in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

They were identified as members of the Al-Mudallal family, according to Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa. 

Three of the martyrs were identified as Khaled Saeed Mansour, Ziad Ahmad al-Mudallal and Ra’fat Saleh Sheikh Eid, while the fourth was identified as a girl who looked around the age of 14-years old.

They were pulled out of the rubble of their destroyed home by civil defence teams and later on civilians in a rescue operation that took place throughout the night.

Around 40 other Palestinians were injured in the attack and were hospitalised, some of whom are in critical condition.

Israel on Friday began a bombing campaign on the besieged enclave, in which health authorities in Gaza said at least 32 people have been killed - including six children and 256 wounded, including 96 children, 30 women and 12 elderly.

Israel says the deadly assault was launched in response to an imminent threat from Islamic Jihad fighters to its citizens in the area around Gaza.

The fighting is the worst in Gaza since a war last year devastated the impoverished coastal territory, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.