Several Palestinians and Israeli soldiers say troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that an Israeli strike in the southern city of Khan Yunis killed nine children of a pair of married doctors, with the Israeli army saying it was reviewing the reports.

Najjar, a Gazan paediatrician, found her family's house on fire after the strikes, her husband, fellow doctor Hamdi al-Najjar, was severely wounded and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old son,

Two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals have been encircled by Israeli troops, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week, as Israel pursued its renewed offensive into the devastated Palestinian territory.

Plumes of smoke rose Thursday over the northern Gaza Strip where Israel's military urged civilians to evacuate, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed more than 50 people.The latest evacuation warning for parts of Gaza City and neighbouring areas came hours after the United Nations said it had begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza -- the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.

An estimated 14,000 babies could die without essential aid according to the U.N. as Israel military operations intensify.

Israel has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza drawing international criticism and calls to allow in more supplies after it eased a total aid blockade imposed on March 2.

The United Nations chief said Friday that Palestinians were enduring "the cruelest phase" of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.