RAFAH: An Israeli strike in Gaza killed 31 people Sunday, the Palestinian civil defence agency said, as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was visiting for talks on the brutal conflict and post-war scenarios.
Army troops have moved in on Gaza's crowded far-southern city of Rafah, which they describe as the last Palestinian groups stronghold and where the UN says 800,000 civilians have been newly displaced by the fighting.
But Israel has also fought and bombed resurgent forces in northern and central areas of Gaza previously considered to be under army control, sparking US warnings that the military could become mired in a lengthy counterinsurgency campaign.
In the latest aerial bombardment overnight, Gaza's civil defence agency said that a strike had killed 31 people and wounded 20 more in a family house in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
The wounded included several children and rescuers were searching the rubble for missing people, said the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, while the Israeli army said it was checking the reports.
On Saturday, Palestinian relatives wailed with grief as victims including an infant were rushed to Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Beit Lahia, following Israeli strikes and heavy clashes in Jabalia.
The Gaza war broke out after unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, according to a tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's offensive has killed at least 35,386 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to latest data provided by the territory's health ministry.
The Israeli military said two more soldiers were killed in Gaza on Saturday, raising its death toll to 282 soldiers in the campaign since the start of the ground offensive.
Amid the war, Israel has also imposed a siege on the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people that has deprived them of normal access to clean water, food, medicines and fuel, the suffering eased only by sporadic aid shipments by land, air and sea.
However, truck arrivals have slowed with the Rafah crossing with Egypt, a vital conduit for humanitarian aid, closed since Israel launched its operation in the city.
In recent days aid began entering Gaza via a temporary US-built floating pier, where shipments sent from the island of Cyprus are offloaded for distribution.
The World Health Organization warned Friday that it has received no medical supplies for Gaza since the Rafah operation began early this month. — AFP
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