At least 22 people killed 18 of them children in overnight Israeli airstrike on Rafah
Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed at least 22 people, 18 of them were children, according to health officials on Sunday.  Meanwhile, the United States has approved billions of dollars in additional military aid to Israel, its key ally. Israel has been conducting daily air raids on Rafah, where 2.3million of Gaza's inhabitants have sought refuge from conflict elsewhere.  Despite international calls for restraint, including from the US, Israel has expressed intentions to escalate its ground operations against the Hamas militant group in the city near the Egyptian border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to intensify political and military pressure on Hamas in the coming days to secure the release of hostages and achieve victory. However, he provided no specifics on these actions. The initial Israeli airstrike in Rafah resulted in the deaths of a man, his wife, and their 3-year-old child, as confirmed by the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital. Fortunately, doctors managed to save the woman's unborn baby. Subsequently, a second strike claimed the lives of 17 children and two women from an extended family. Relatives of the victims can't but question why sleeping children had been targeted whilst expressing horror at the condition of the elderly aunt who was killed. The aftermath of the strikes saw small children being placed in body bags. Mohammed al-Beheiri recounted the tragic loss of his daughter Rasha and her six children, the youngest being just 18 months old. Additionally, a woman and three children remained trapped under debris. According to local health officials, the Israel-Hamas conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians, with at least two-thirds of them being children and women. This prolonged conflict has left Gaza's major cities devastated and forced approximately 80% of the population to seek refuge elsewhere within the besieged coastal enclave. The 24 billion euros aid package approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday includes roughly 8 billion euros in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which experts warn is teetering on the brink of famine. The Senate is expected to ratify the package by Tuesday, with President Joe Biden pledging immediate enactment upon passage.
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