Israeli Tanks Near Gaza City, Major Road Closed: Source

A vital route connecting the war-torn region’s north and south has been cut off by Israeli tanks entering the Zaytun neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of Gaza City.

Over 600 targets have been hit by the military in the last 24 hours, compared to 450 the day before. Hamas operatives have also reported “heavy fighting” in the northern Gaza region. As it moves forward with a mission to “destroy” the Hamas rulers of the territory, Israel has issued warnings to the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to evacuate south in order to avoid its military strikes.

As part of the military response to the October 7 Hamas attacks, which authorities say claimed 1,400 lives, mostly civilians, and kidnapped another 239, Israeli forces have increased their ground offensive since Friday. Since then, Israeli air and ground strikes have killed over 8,000 people, mostly civilians and more than half of them children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

In overnight fighting, the Israeli army claimed that its soldiers had killed “dozens” of operationals who had tried to attack them by barricading themselves inside buildings and tunnels. A fighter jet was directed towards an anti-tank missile launch site near Al-Azhar University in one incident, and another targeted a building that housed more than twenty Hamas terrorist operatives.