War

Palestinian medical officials said two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman. The deaths came as eight international aid groups said in a report on Tuesday that Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands that it allow greater humanitarian access to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where conditions are worse than at any point in the 13-month-old war.A late Monday strike hit a cafeteria in the so-called Muwasi humanitarian zone west of the Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.The Biden administration last month called on Israel to “surge” more food and other emergency aid into Gaza, setting a 30-day deadline that was expiring Tuesday.It warned failure to comply could trigger U.S. laws requiring it to scale back American military support as Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has announced some steps toward improving the situation. But in recent days, U.S. officials signaled Israel still isn’t doing enough, though they have not said if they will take action against it.The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.In Lebanon, to the north, the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group, began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,200 people have been killed and more than 14,000 wounded in Lebanon, the country’s Health Ministry reported.