Wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 21 Palestinians, amid new round of West Bank raids

Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 21 Palestinians on Tuesday, as Israeli authorities temporarily blocked Palestinian medical evacuations through the Rafah border crossing.

Israeli shelling in northern Gaza killed 11 people in Gaza City's neighbourhoods of al-Tuffah and al-Zeitoun since dawn, according to Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces also shelled the city of Deir El-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, while Israeli strikes on the al-Mawasi tent camp killed at least two people and wounded 12 others, including a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

Israeli artillery fire killed at least four people in the Qizan Rashwan area south of the city of Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli forces have killed at least 529 Palestinians and wounded 1,462 others since the ceasefire began in October, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The PRCS said Israeli authorities cancelled the planned evacuation of Palestinian patients to Egypt, the third batch since the crossing opened on Monday. 

Preparations were underway at the Red Crescent Hospital in Khan Younis when the World Health Organization (WHO) informed the PRCS that Israel had halted the evacuation.

Later, the PRCS told Al Jazeera that the evacuation of patients would resume later on Wednesday.

Gaza's health ministry said that 4,000 cancer patients, out of a total of 11,000, had been waiting for more than two years to be transferred abroad for treatment after receiving referrals. At least 20,000 people need to be evacuated from Gaza for medical care.

The Israeli attacks and the apparent temporary closure of the Rafah crossing came after the Israeli army said one of its reservists was seriously wounded by gunfire from Palestinian militants in northern Gaza overnight.

Despite Israel's repeated ceasefire violations and claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would not be involved in governing Gaza, Turkey and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday reaffirmed their support for Ramallah.

In a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Turkey and Saudi Arabia "stressed the necessity of consolidating the ceasefire, ending the occupation of Gaza, and paving the way for the Palestinian National Authority to resume its responsibilities in the Strip".