At least eight Palestinians were killed by overnight strikes on Thursday as Israeli force stepped up its bombing campaign across Gaza despite warnings from US officials.
Strikes were reported in Deir al-Balah, Az Zawaida and around Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which had been under Israeli raids for days, where hundreds of Palestinian families were still living.
The humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave continued to worsen as hospitals had been stretched to “breaking point” after multiple mass casualty attacks last week, medics said. The WHO said there has been more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since the start of the war in October.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on calls for an internal probe in failings of the Israeli military related to the 7 October Hamas attacks as pressure grows from the Israeli public to achieve a captives release deal.
Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and Thursday, with Lebanese media reporting the death of a member of Sunni faction Jamaa Islamiya.
