Officials in the health sector said on Sunday that Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza overnight resulted in the deaths of 22 people, including 18 children, while the United States was on the verge of approving additional military aid worth billions of dollars to its close ally.

Israel conducts almost daily airstrikes on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have fled to escape fighting in other areas, and it has pledged to expand its ground offensive on the city located on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the United States.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes about $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza.

The first strike resulted in the deaths of a man, his wife, and their three-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti hospital that received the bodies, which stated that the woman was pregnant and doctors were able to save the baby.

The second strike claimed the lives of 17 children and two women, all from the same extended family, according to hospital records. First responders were still searching through the rubble. An airstrike in Rafah the night before resulted in the deaths of nine people, including six children.

Mohammed Al-Buhairi stated that his daughter Rasha and her six children, aged between 18 months and 16 years, were among the dead overnight and into Sunday, adding that the second wife of his daughter's husband and their three children remain under the rubble.

The war between Israel and Hamas has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, devastated Gaza's two largest cities, and left a swath of destruction throughout the enclave. About 80% of the population have fled their homes to other parts of the besieged coastal territory, which experts say is on the brink of famine.

The conflict, now in its seventh month, has sparked regional turmoil between Israel and the United States against Iran and its allied armed groups throughout the Middle East. Israel and Iran exchanged fire directly earlier this month, raising concerns about an all-out war between the two long-standing adversaries.

Tensions have also escalated in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed two Palestinians whom the army stated attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank early Sunday. The Palestinian health ministry reported that the deceased were 18 and 19 years old and from the same family. The army reported no injuries among Israeli forces.

On the other hand, the rescue service of the Palestinian Red Crescent announced that it recovered 14 bodies from the Israeli airstrike on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, which began late Thursday. Among the dead were three militants from the Islamic Jihad movement and a 15-year-old boy. The army claims to have killed 10 militants in the camp and arrested eight suspects, with nine Israeli soldiers and officers injured.

In a separate incident in the West Bank, an Israeli was injured in an explosion on Sunday, according to the Red Star of David rescue service. A video circulating online shows a man approaching a Palestinian flag that was planted in one of the fields. When he kicks it, it appears to trigger an explosive device.

At least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since the war on Gaza began, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Most were killed during Israeli army raids for arrests, which often lead to gunfire exchanges, or during violent protests.

The war in Gaza broke out following an unprecedented raid on October 7 on southern Israel, where Hamas and other militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped around 250 hostages. Israel claims that militants are still holding approximately 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets demanding new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to reach an agreement with Hamas for the release of the hostages. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are returned.

The war has resulted in the deaths of at least 34,097 Palestinians and injuries to 76,980 others, according to Gaza's health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but states that at least two-thirds of them are children and women. It also notes that the actual number is likely higher because many bodies are trapped under the rubble left by airstrikes or in areas inaccessible to rescuers.

Israel blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because militants fight in densely populated neighborhoods, but the army rarely comments on individual attacks that frequently kill women and children. The army claims to have killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.