AN ISRAELI air strike in Gaza killed two children and wounded their mother and sibling on Saturday night as they sheltered in a tent.

According to health officials, the children aged six and eight were among four people killed in the strike in the Muwasi area, a tent camp designated by Israel as a safe zone.

A reporter with the Associated Press news agency confirmed the number of bodies.

A separate strike on the Shaboura refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed four men.

The Israeli military claimed to be unaware of strikes in either location.

Israel claims it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but the latest death toll of at least 44,382 indicates otherwise.

Six members of a single household were killed today when an air strike hit central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, while three others were killed in a home in Gaza City.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Israel’s attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza rose to at least 100 on Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now living in tent camps and relying on international food aid.

United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said today that it was pausing deliveries of humanitarian supplies through the main crossing into Gaza because of security concerns.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said that the route leading to the Kerem Shalom crossing had become too dangerous after armed men looted nearly 100 lorries last month.

He blamed Israel for the breakdown of humanitarian operations, citing “political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid,” a lack of safety on aid routes and Israel’s targeting of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force, which had previously provided public security.

The World Central Kitchen charity also said that it was pausing operations after three of its staff were killed in an air strike.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s spokesperson claimed that “negotiations [are] taking place behind the scenes” for a return of Israeli hostages.

The statement came as Mr Herzog met captive Edan Alexander’s family less than a day after a video surfaced showing him alive.

“With an agreement reached regarding the northern border with Lebanon, it is time to finalise a deal and bring the hostages home,” the president said.

Lebanese news agencies reported several explosions in two towns in southern Lebanon on the fifth day of the temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli bombardments were also reported on Saturday.