Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 87 people and wounded 290 during the past 24-hour reporting period, according to the latest daily update by the Health Ministry in the besieged and bombarded territory, reports Al-Jazeera.
The casualties bring the total number of people confirmed killed in Gaza during the war to 53,573 with 121,688 wounded, the ministry said.
Many victims are still missing under the rubble where rescuers cannot reach them, it added.
According to Al-Jazeera among the people killed at least were 22 children.
Bombs hit a family home and a school-turned-shelter as a major offensive got underway and Israel
pressed forward with its war against Hamas. It was just hours after the UK, Canada warned Israel they would take ‘concrete action’ if it persists with the war on the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Threatening action such as sanctions they called on Israel to stop its "egregious" new military actions in Gaza.
Netanyahu rejected the criticism, saying it was "a huge prize" for Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that would invite more such violence. More than 300 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the latest onslaught, which has left many suffering horrific blast injuries.
As the new offensive ramps up, Israel agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the war-ravaged territory after a 2 and a half months blockade. The medical aid, food and water blockade has prompted warnings from food experts of a risk of famine with thousands of children facing malnutrition.
So far, just a handful of aid trucks have been sent into Gaza, which U.N. agencies say is nowhere near enough to meet the massive need. Some 600 trucks a day had entered during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Criticism against Israel's conduct in Gaza came also from inside the country, with a leader of Israel's center-left politics saying Israel was becoming an "outcast among nations" because of the government's approach to the war. Yair Golan, a retired general and leader of the opposition Democrats party, told Reshet Bet radio: "A sane country doesn't engage in fighting against civilians, doesn't kill babies as a hobby and doesn't set for itself the goals of expelling a population."
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. Netanyahu swiftly slammed Golan's remarks, calling them "wild incitement" against Israeli soldiers and accusing Golan of echoing "disgraceful antisemitic blood libels."
Golan, who donned his uniform during Hamas' 2023 attack to join the fight against the raiding militants, previously sparked an uproar when as deputy military chief of staff in 2016, he likened the atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany. 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 .
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 ten 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 returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The organisation does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
UN says thousands of babies in Gaza could die without aid as Britain, Canada, France threaten sanctions against Israel
United Nations' humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within 48 hours if more aid does not enter the territory.
Fletcher said five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, a "drop in the ocean" after an 11-week blockade by Israel.
He added that although the aid lorries have crossed into Gaza, they are just on the other side of the border, and haven't even reached the communities yet, reports BBC.
"We run all sorts of risks trying to get that baby food through to those mothers who cannot feed their children right now because they're malnourished," he further said.
His comments come after the leaders of Britain, Canada and France threatened sanctions against Israel on Monday if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The Israeli Government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law," a joint statement released by the British government said.
"We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank ... We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions."
"We have always supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate," the three Western leaders said in the joint statement. They said they would not stand by while Netanyahu's government pursued "these egregious actions."
They stated their support for efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and said they were committed to recognising a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the conflict.
Hamas welcomed the joint statement describing the stance as "an important step" in the right direction toward restoring the principles of international law.
Netanyahu said that "the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities".
He said Israel will defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved, reiterating Israel's conditions to end the war which include the release of the remaining hostages and the demilitarization of the Gaza strip.
The Israeli military announced the start of a new operation on Friday, and earlier on Monday Netanyahu said Israel would take control of the whole of Gaza. International experts have already warned of looming famine.
Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March to try to pressure Hamas into freeing the hostages the Palestinian militant group took on October 7, 2023, when it attacked Israeli communities.
Israel's ground and air war has devastated Gaza, displacing nearly all its residents and killing more than 53,000 people, many of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.
The war began with the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seized 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
