Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 30

Gaza's civil defence agency said Tuesday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes were carried out overnight and into the morning and "targeted a number of citizens' homes" in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The local Al-Awda hospital said it had received "the bodies of 30 martyrs, including 14 women and 12 children".

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, whose forces have been conducting operations against militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip for almost 22 months.

The Israeli offensive, triggered by a bloody attack by the Palestinian group on October 7, 2023 attack, has killed more than 59,900 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

At the weekend, under pressure from international opinion to head off the territory's slide into famine, Israel declared a series of "tactical pauses" which began on Sunday to allow aid deliveries.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the pause in military operations covers "key populated areas" between 10 am (0700 GMT) and 8 pm every day.

Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6 am to 11 pm, Netanyahu's office said.

Overnight, however, strikes continue.

COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body in charge of civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that more than 200 truckloads of aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies on Monday.

Another 260 trucks were permitted to cross into Gaza to deposit aid at collection points, four UN tankers brought in fuel and 20 pallets of aid were airdropped from Jordanian and Emirati planes, COGAT said.

Palestinian activist killed by settlers in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority's education ministry accused Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Monday of killing an activist linked to an Oscar-winning film, while Israeli police said they were investigating the incident.

The ministry said on social media that Awdah Muhammad Hathaleen "was shot dead by settlers... during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair" near Hebron, in the south of the occupied territory.

The Israeli police earlier said it was investigating an "incident near Carmel," a settlement neighbouring Umm al-Khair.

"An Israeli citizen was detained at the scene and then arrested by police for questioning," a police statement said.

"Four Palestinians were arrested by IDF (Israeli military) soldiers in connection with the incident, along with two foreign tourists who were at the scene."

"Following the incident, the death of a Palestinian was confirmed; his exact involvement in the incident is being verified," the police added.

Awdah Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a string of hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, which have been declared a military zone by Israel.

Their efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes was the subject of "No Other Land", which won Best Documentary at the Oscars in March.

Its Israeli co-director, Yuval Abraham, posted a video on Instagram showing a man with a gun in his hand arguing with a group of people, while shouts can be heard in Hebrew and Arabic.

"An Israeli settler just shot (Awdah Hathaleen) in the lungs, a remarkable activist who helped us film 'No Other Land' in Masafer Yatta," Abraham wrote.

About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside nearly half a million Israelis living in settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

At least 962 Palestinians, including many fighters but also many civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

At least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.