Israel kills 13 more in Gaza

At least 13 people, including three children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip amid a months-long Israeli blockade that has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn coastal enclave.

Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli warplanes bombed a tent in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Saturday morning, killing five members of the a family.

"Three children, their mother and her husband were sleeping inside a tent and were bombed by an [Israeli] occupation aircraft," family member Omar Abu al-Kass told the AFP news agency.

The strikes came "without warning and without having done anything wrong", added Abu al-Kass, who said he was the children's maternal grandfather.

In parallel, a drone attack on Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood left six people dead and one more in the Sheikh Radwan area of the city where Israel bombed an apartment belonging to the Zaqout family.

Further south, Wafa said Israeli gunboats opened "heavy fire" on the shores of Rafah, killing a man identified as Mohammed Saeed al-Bardawil. Two more civilians were injured in an attack on the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of Rafah.

The attacks came amid Israel's continuing refusal to allow vital supplies into Gaza since March 2, leaving the enclave's 2.3 million residents dependent on a dwindling number of charity kitchens, which have been shutting down in recent days as food runs out.

The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed for the blockade to be lifted.

"Children are starving and dying. Community kitchens are shutting down. Clean water is running out," it said on Friday in a post on X.

The blockade is also having a devastating effect on people with chronic illnesses, depriving Palestinians who suffer from diabetes, cancer and rare conditions, of life-saving medication.

On Friday, the United States said it was establishing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to coordinate aid deliveries into Gaza, with Israel providing military security for operations. The United Nations rejected the move, saying it would weaponise aid, violate principles of neutrality and cause mass displacement.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli offensive on Gaza has killed at least 52,787 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.