At least 78 killed amid Israeli strikes in Gaza as some aid restrictions eased

At least 78 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes or gunfire, according to local health officials, a day after Israel eased aid restrictions in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory.

The dead included a newborn who was delivered in a complex surgery after his mother, who was seven months pregnant, was killed in a strike, according to the Nasser Hospital.

Israel announced on Sunday that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day until further notice to allow for the improved flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where concern over hunger has grown, and designate secure routes for aid delivery.

Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment about the latest strikes, which occurred outside the time frame for the pause Israel declared would be held between 10am and 8pm local time.

Aid agencies have welcomed the new aid measures, which also included allowing airdrops into Gaza, but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory.

Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel’s close allies.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza “terrible”.

Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war.

In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine to pressure Hamas to free hostages.

Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence.

Traditional aid providers have also encountered a similar breakdown in law and order surrounding their aid deliveries.

Most of Gaza’s population now relies on aid.

Accessing food has become a challenge that some Palestinians have risked their lives for.

The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed on Monday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site.

The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The pregnant woman and her child were killed along with 11 others after their house was struck in the Muwasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis, according to a hospital run by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Another strike hit a two-storey house in the western Japanese neighbourhood of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, said the Nasser Hospital, which received the casualties.

At least five others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza, according to local hospitals.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on most of the strikes.

It said it was not aware of one strike in Gaza City during the pause that health officials said killed one person.

In its October 7 2023 attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

It still holds 50, more than half of whom Israel believes to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children.

The ministry operates under the Hamas government.

The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.