Mounting Gaza horror as Israel presses attack despite world condemnation

Defiant Israel has snubbed mounting global condemnation for its war on killing a further 73 people in devastating strikes on the Strip overnight. The tragic death toll mounted throughout the day with repeated explosions in the Strip - hitting the bloody milestone of 70 killed by early afternoon.

Bombs hit a family home and a school-turned-shelter as a major offensive got underway and pressed forward with its war against Hamas. It was just hours after the UK, warned Israel they would take ‘concrete action’ if it persists with the war on the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Threatening action such as sanctions they called on Israel to stop its "egregious" new military actions in Gaza.

Netanyahu rejected the criticism, saying it was "a huge prize" for attack that would invite more such violence. More than 300 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the latest onslaught, which has left many suffering horrific blast injuries.

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As the new offensive ramps up, Israel agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the after a 2 1/2 month blockade. The medical aid, food and water blockade has prompted warnings from food experts of a risk of famine with thousands of children facing malnutrition.

So far, just a handful of aid trucks have been sent into Gaza, which say is nowhere near enough to meet the massive need. Some 600 trucks a day had entered during a ceasefire earlier this year.

came also from inside the country, with a leader of Israel's center-left politics saying Israel was becoming an "outcast among nations" because of the government's approach to the war. Yair Golan, a retired general and leader of the opposition Democrats party, told Reshet Bet radio: "A sane country doesn't engage in fighting against civilians, doesn't kill babies as a hobby and doesn't set for itself the goals of expelling a population."

Many Israelis have criticized Netanyahu throughout the war, but that has been mostly limited to what opponents argue are his political motives to continue the war. Netanyahu swiftly slammed Golan's remarks, calling them "wild incitement" against soldiers and accusing Golan of echoing "disgraceful antisemitic blood libels."

Golan, who donned his uniform during Hamas' 2023 attack to join the fight against the raiding militants, previously sparked an uproar when as deputy military chief of staff in 2016, he likened the atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany. Strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Gaza's second-largest city, , which endured a previous offensive .

In the latest strikes, two in northern Gaza hit a family home and a school-turned-shelter, killing at least 22 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the . A strike in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed 13 people, and another in the nearby built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed 15, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Two strikes in the southern city of killed ten people, according to Nasser Hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the group operates in densely populated areas.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The organisation does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.