NEW DELHI: Israel carried out overnight strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in which 22 people were killed, including 18 children, as confirmed by health officials.

The strikes were carried out at a time when the United States was clearing additional military aid, worth billions of dollars, for Israel.

Near-daily air raids are being carried out by Israel on Rafah, a place which has become the refuge of more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.

Israel has also decided to expand its ground offensive against Hamas near Gaza's border with Egypt amid calls for restraint from various countries, including the United States.

“In the coming days, we will increase the political and military pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to bring back our hostages and achieve victory. We will land more and painful blows on Hamas — soon,” said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement. 

In the first strike carried out on Rafah by Israel, one man, his wife and their 3-year-old child were killed, as per the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital, where dead bodies were sent.

According to the hospital, the woman was pregnant and the baby was saved by the doctors. In the second strike on Rafah, 17 children and two women from an extended family were killed.

“These children were sleeping. What did they do? What was their fault?” questioned one relative Umm Kareem, reported Associated News.

Another resident Mohammed al-Beheiri confirmed that his daughter Rasha, and her six children, the youngest being only 18 months old, were also killed. A woman and three children were reported to be stuck under the rubble.

More than 34,000 Palestinians, of which at least two-thirds were women and children, have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, as per officials in Gaza.

The two largest cities of Gaza have been devastated in the war and colossal destruction has taken place. Nearly 80 per cent of the population has shifted to other regions of the besieged coastal enclave.

The US House of Representatives on Saturday (April 20) approved a $26 billion aid package which included nearly $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which appears to be on the brink of famine, according to experts.

The US Senate is likely to sign the package as soon as Tuesday (April 23), which will be immediately signed by President Joe Biden.

It has been seven months since the conflict started and has now led to regional unrest as Israel and the US stand against Iran and allied militant groups. This month, Israel and Iran had a face-off which raised concerns of an all-out war.