Israel pounds Gaza as West Bank violence surges

The bodies of 13 people, mostly children, were recovered after an Israeli strike hit the home of a family near the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah

Israel carried out deadly strikes in Gaza, first responders in the war-battered Palestinian territory said on Sunday (Apr 21), as violence flared in the occupied West Bank.

The latest bombardments came as lawmakers in Israel's top ally, the United States, approved US$13 billion in new Israeli military aid even as global criticism mounts over the death toll and dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

However, fears of wider war breaking out in the Middle East have eased somewhat after Iran downplayed Israel's reported retaliation over its unprecedented missile and drone attack on the country a week ago.

Attention has turned back towards the war in Gaza, which Israel hit with several strikes overnight, according to the Palestinian territory's Civil Defence agency.

The bodies of 13 people, mostly children, were recovered after an Israeli strike hit the home of a family near the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah, the agency said. Other people were believed to be under rubble.

A separate Israeli strike on a home in the Rafah area killed at least three people and wounded others, Civil Defence said.