At least 17 killed in latest Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza
Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
First responders with the civil defence circulated video footage of rescuers pulling dead and wounded people from the rubble of a house yesterday, including a child with blood on its face who was not moving.
The nearby European Hospital
said that it had received 17 bodies overnight.
Gaza's health ministry says a total of 97 people have been killed over the last 24 hours.
It brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the nearly fivemonth war to 30,631, according to the ministry.
It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of the total casualties.
It says over 72,000 people have been wounded.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.
Over 100 hostages were released last year in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high toll on ham as because the militants operate in dense, residential areas.
The military rarely comments on individual strikes but said in yesterday that it was carrying out targeted raids on militant infrastructure in khan Younis while trying to evacuate civilians from the area.
Meanwhile, US vice-president Kamala Harris expressed "deep concern" over Gaza in talks with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, the White House said yesterday
Ms harris' so ff ice said she had urged Israel to let more aid into
Gaza, while calling on Hamas to accept terms for a ceasefire.
It said they discussed the need for a "credible" humanitarian plan before any major military operation in Rafah.
The US is ramping up pressure on Israel to facilitate more aid for Gaza.
The visit by Mr Gantz, inset, a political rival of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanuahu, is being seen as a snub to Mr Netanyahu, who has yet to receive an invitation to the White House 15 months after he took office.