Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes on Thursday killed at least 33 people, including 12 guards securing aid trucks in southern parts of the Palestinian territory.

Gaza officials said many people were still under rubble. The Israeli military acknowledged the strike but questioned the death toll.

An Israeli attack in the north of the Gaza Strip killed 21 people on Wednesday, with more bodies believed to be under the rubble, staff at the Kamal Adwan Hospital said. Palestinian witnesses reported that a four-storey residential building in Beit Lahia near the hospital had been hit.