DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥� Israeli strikes pounded Gaza overnight and into Tuesday, hitting a family home and a school-turned-shelter, and killing at least 60 people, Palestinian health officials said, as Israel pressed its war against Hamas despite mounting international condemnation.
Israel launched in recent days, saying it aims to return dozens of hostages held by Hamas and destroy the militant group. More than 300 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the latest onslaught, according to local health officials.
Israel says it seeks to seize Gaza and hold on to territory there, displace hundreds of thousands of people and secure aid distribution.
As the new offensive ramps up, Israel agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the war-ravaged territory of roughly 2 million people after a 2 1/2 month blockade that prevented the entry of food, medicine and fuel, among other goods. The blockade prompted warnings from food experts of a risk of famine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he made the decision to let in minimal aid after pressure from allies, who he said couldn't support Israel so long as 鈥渋mages of hunger鈥� were coming out of Gaza.
Monday when allies Canada, France and the United Kingdom threatened "concrete actions鈥� against the country, including sanctions, and called on Israel to stop its 鈥渆gregious鈥� new military actions in Gaza. Netanyahu rejected the criticism, saying it was 鈥渁 huge prize鈥� for Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that would invite more such violence.
French Foreign Minister Jean-No毛l Barrot denounced the Israeli government鈥檚 鈥渂lind violence鈥� in Gaza that he said has turned the Palestinian territory into a 鈥減lace of death.鈥�
鈥淭his must stop,鈥� Barrot told French radio France Inter on Tuesday.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, said the world body had received approvals for about 100 trucks to enter Gaza.
But he said only five trucks have crossed into Gaza since Monday and those do not appear to have been taken yet by aid groups for distribution. It was not immediately clear what was causing the holdup.
The U.N. says that amount of trucks is just 鈥渄rop in the ocean" of what is needed. Some 600 trucks a day had entered during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Israeli politician criticizes killing 鈥榖abies as a hobby鈥�
Criticism against Israel's conduct in Gaza came also from inside the country, with saying on Tuesday that Israel was becoming an 鈥渙utcast among nations" because of the government's approach to the war.
鈥淎 sane country doesn鈥檛 engage in fighting against civilians, doesn鈥檛 kill babies as a hobby and doesn鈥檛 set for itself the goals of expelling a population,鈥� Yair Golan, a retired general and leader of the opposition Democrats party, told Reshet Bet radio.
His comments were rare criticism from within Israel of its wartime conduct in Gaza. Many Israelis have criticized Netanyahu throughout the war, but that has been mostly limited to what opponents argue are his political motives to continue the war. Criticism like Golan's, over the war's toll on Palestinian civilians, has been almost unheard.
Netanyahu swiftly slammed Golan's remarks, calling them 鈥渨ild incitement鈥� against Israeli soldiers and accusing Golan of echoing 鈥渄isgraceful antisemitic blood libels鈥� against the country.
Golan, who donned his uniform during Hamas' 2023 attack to join the fight against the raiding militants, when as deputy military chief of staff in 2016, he likened the atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany.
Strikes pound Gaza
Over recent days, strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, which endured a previous offensive that left vast destruction.
In the latest strikes, two in northern Gaza hit a family home and a school-turned-shelter, killing at least 22 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
A strike in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed 13 people, and another in the nearby built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed 15, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Two strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis killed 10 people, according to Nasser Hospital.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the group operates in densely populated areas.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were .
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, which doesn鈥檛 differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
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Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy And Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press
