Gaza City, Gaza - A Palestinian father left his home in Gaza to get birth certificates for his newborn twins – by the time he returned, they along with his entire family had been wiped out by an Israeli bomb.

A spokesperson from al-Aqsa Hospital confirmed that the bodies of a young woman, two infants, and an older woman were brought to the hospital early Tuesday.

They were Mohammed Abu al-Qumsan wife, children, and mother-in-law – all killed when an Israeli shell hit their house in Deir al-Balah.

The Israeli army stated that it was not currently aware of the incident.

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Al-Qumsan told Germany's dpa news agency that the boy and girl, Aser and Aysal, were born on Saturday. While away to fetch their birth certificates from the Ministry of the Interior on Tuesday, a relative called to inform him of the attack on his home.

"Why did they attack the house if they knew we were civilians?" he asked. His wife was a doctor, and he had worked in the United Arab Emirates before returning to Gaza.

"They took everything from me: my house, my family, my wife, and my two children," he added. "How am I supposed to live now?"

In a statement, the Israeli army only said it "employs various measures to minimize harm to civilians," without addressing the case – or the catastrophic civilian death toll of its war on Gaza, especially among children.

At least 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the months-long assault, amid widespread accusations of Israeli war crimes that for many experts veer into genocide.