Israeli strikes kill children in Gaza amid aid blockade and rising global pressure

The plight of people in Gaza persists as children fall victim to Israeli airstrikes too often, with the recent one killing nine children in one family, while others suffer from the lack of access to food.

Lee Eun-hee reports.

Hamdi Al-Najjar, a Palestinian doctor, is in critical condition following an Israeli airstrike that killed nine of his 10 children.

His wife, also a doctor at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, had to see her burned children in the ruins of their home.

"So she (Hamdi's wife) told me her children have died, she went to her house and saw her children burned, may God help her."

According to Gaza's Government Media Office, the children killed ranged in age from seven months to 12 years old.

The only survivor, an 11-year-old, is severely injured.

Israel's military confirmed it carried out the strike on Khan Younis on Friday, saying that it targeted suspected militants operating from a structure near Israeli troops in an area that had been told to evacuate.

The IDF added that the "claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review."

Meanwhile, Hamas accused Israel of deliberately targeting medical staff and their families and civilians.

On Saturday, a four-year-old child died due to severe malnutrition, raising the hunger-related death toll to over 58 in the besieged enclave over the past 80 days.

Also, more than 240 people, mostly children and the elderly, have died from a lack of food and medical care.

"My message to the world, besiege the embassies, speak up, break this siege, stop this genocide on the Gaza Strip, on our hungry, besieged people."

Amid growing global outrage, Spain hosted a high-level meeting in Madrid on Sunday with over 20 European and Arab countries to pressure Israel for a ceasefire and lift its humanitarian aid blockade into Gaza.

The meeting included EU countries that were once considered close allies of Israel, now joining the international call for restraint as Israel expands its military operations in Gaza.

The U.S. urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay plans for a full-scale ground offensive in Gaza.

That's according to the Jerusalem Post on Sunday, which said the request was made in order to allow ceasefire negotiations and a hostage deal "proceed in parallel with military operations."

With the ceasefire negotiations deadlocked, Israel has intensified its bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza, with reports saying that its forces now control over 77-percent of the Gaza Strip.

Lee Eun-hee, Arirang News.