At least 15 Palestinians, including 10 children, have been killed in an Israeli strike while queuing for nutritional supplements outside a medical clinic in central Gaza.

US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas terrorist” and regretted any harm to civilians. The victims were among 66 people reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on the same day.

Project Hope said the attack in front of its Altayara health clinic in Deir al-Balah happened as patients gathered outside, waiting to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections and chronic illnesses.

Graphic footage posted on social media, which was verified by the BBC, showed the immediate aftermath of the attack, with adults and young children lying in a street, some severely wounded and others not moving.

At the mortuary of nearby al-Aqsa hospital, relatives of those killed wept as they wrapped the dead children in white shrouds and body bags before performing funeral prayers. One woman told the BBC that her pregnant niece Manal, and her daughter Fatima had been killed.

Project Hope’s president and CEO, Rabih Torbay, said the aid group’s clinics were “a place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and postpartum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more”.

“Yet, this morning, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open,” he added. “Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore.”

“This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no-one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as ceasefire talks continue. This cannot continue.”

Unicef boss Catherine Russell said: “The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck a member of the elite Nukhba forces of Hamas’s military wing who had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

The airstrike took place as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington after talks with President Trump without reaching agreement on a new ceasefire plan in Gaza.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Nick Beake in Jerusalem and Tom Bateman in Washington.

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