Israeli forces pounded eastern and southern Gaza anew yesterday, a day after killing 274 Palestinians during a hostage rescue raid, and tanks advanced into further areas of Rafah in a bid to seal off part of the southern city, residents and Hamas media said.

Palestinians remained in shock over Saturday's death toll, the worst over a 24-hour period of the Gaza offensive for months and including many women and children, Palestinian medics said.

In an update yesterday, Gaza's health ministry said 274 Palestinians were killed - up from 210 it reported on Saturday - and 698 were injured when Israeli special force commandos stormed into the densely populated Al-Nuseirat camp to rescue four hostages held since October by Hamas.

• Tanks advance into further areas of Rafah 
• US resumes aid deliveries to Gaza from temporary pier
• Israel's offensive in enclave killed 37,084 since Oct 7
   

Doctors described the scenes inside Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza as a "complete bloodbath", with one medic saying the inside of the hospital "looks like a slaughterhouse". Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals are "overwhelmed".

The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, called it a "massacre", while the UN's aid chief described in graphic detail scenes of "shredded bodies on the ground".

"Nuseirat refugee camp is the epicentre of the seismic trauma that civilians in Gaza continue to suffer," Martin Griffiths said in a post on X, calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.

Israel's military said a special forces officer was killed in exchanges of fire with Hamas fighters emerging from cover in residential blocks, and that it knew of "under 100" Palestinians killed, though not how many of them were Hamas members or civilians.

Yesterday, three Palestinians were killed and several hurt in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip, while tanks shelled parts of nearby Al-Maghazi and Al-Nuseirat, reports Reuters.

The Israeli military said in a statement its forces were continuing operations east of Bureij and the city of Deir al-Balah in the centre of the coastal enclave, killing several gunmen and destroying Hamas infrastructure.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 37,084 Palestinians and wounded 84,494 since October 7, the Hamas-run Gaza ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the United States has resumed aid deliveries to Gaza from a temporary pier, the country's military said Saturday, after the structure suffered storm damage and underwent repairs in a nearby port, reports AFP.

"Today at approximately 10:30 am (Gaza time) US Central Command (USCENTCOM) began delivery of humanitarian assistance ashore in Gaza. Today, a total of approximately 492 metric tons (~1.1 million pounds) of much needed humanitarian assistance was delivered to the people of Gaza," CENTCOM said on social media platform X.