Israel hit in Gaza kills 38 as journalists die in Lebanon

An Israeli strike killed 38 people in Khan Younis, Gaza's health ministry has said, and three journalists in southern Lebanon, as Israel's military continues to ramp up its offensives.

- ALEX CROFT

International pressure pushing for a ceasefire and for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, particularly its northern half, has not stopped the Israeli army from pressing on.

The deaths reported by Gaza health officials were the latest in the southern city of Khan Younis, where people have in recent days lined up for bread outside the city's only bakery in operation. They come a day after US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that Israel had accomplished its objective of "effectively dismantling" Hamas, and implored both sides to revive negotiations.

Yesterday, an Israeli airstrike on guesthouses in southeast Lebanon killed three journalists, while Mr Blinken also called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict there.

In northern Gaza, where an area around the town of Jabalia has been the target of a weeks-long offensive, health officials said Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities struggling to operate there, and stationed forces outside it. The Israeli military said it was operating in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital based on intelligence "regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure" there.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on three houses in the nearby Gaza town of Beit Lahiya killed 25 people and wounded dozens more, medics said. Later yesterday, an Israeli airstrike killed nine people in Shati camp in Gaza City, medics said, raising the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire across the enclave to at least 72 since Thursday night.