Israel launched a military operation on Thursday, sweeping through a Gaza City neighborhood and directing Palestinians to relocate south amid tank rumblings and airstrikes targeting Rafah.
Residents of Shejaia in Gaza City reported being startled by tanks and drone strikes following overnight bombardments, marking what Israel described as the culmination of efforts against Hamas in the area.
"It sounded like the war is restarting, a series of bombings that destroyed several houses in our area and shook the buildings," said Mohammad Jamal, 25, a Gaza City resident, speaking to Reuters via a messaging app.
Later Thursday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service reported at least seven deaths from Israeli military strikes in Shejaia so far.
The service fears additional casualties may be trapped under unreachable rubble.
Footage from Reuters showed men, women and children fleeing with bags and food as the raid began. Some men carried injured, bleeding children as they fled.
"This is the occupation targeting us, as you can see. You can see children being targeted here," said a man carrying a bleeding boy.
An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on reports of casualties in Shejaia.
The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed it detonated a pre-planted explosive device against an Israeli tank east of the district.
Israel accuses Hamas of hiding among civilians and claims it warns displaced people to evacuate before military operations.
"For your safety, evacuate immediately south on Salah al-Din Street to the humanitarian zone," army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on social media platform X, urging residents and displaced persons in Shejaia.
Residents and Hamas media reported tanks moving in before the post, forcing eastern suburb residents to flee westward under fire, with Israel blocking the south road.
Just before midnight, an Israeli airstrike hit the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service headquarters in Al-Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip, killing three members, the service said. This brought to 74 the number of staff killed by Israeli fire since Oct. 7.
In Rafah, where tanks advanced in several neighborhoods since May 7, medics said four Palestinians died from tank shells in the city's western area, where the Israeli army recently intensified its presence.
Israel had no immediate comment on the incidents.
More than eight months into Tel Aviv's pounding on Gaza, triggered by Hamas' incursion on southern Israel on Oct. 7, aid officials say the enclave remains at high risk of famine, with nearly half a million people facing "catastrophic" food insecurity.
"We are being starved in Gaza City and hunted by tanks and planes with no hope this war will ever end," Jamal said.
The death of a girl at Kamal Adwan Hospital late Wednesday raised to at least 31 the number of children who have died from malnutrition and dehydration, a Gaza health official said, noting war made tracking such cases difficult.
Israel denies accusations of creating famine conditions, blaming aid agencies for distribution issues and accusing Hamas of diverting aid, which the group denies.
In southern Gaza, social media drone footage, unverified by Reuters, showed dozens of houses destroyed in parts of Rafah, with Swedeya village on the city's western side wiped out.
There was no immediate Israeli military comment on the action.
International mediation, backed by the U.S., has failed to secure a ceasefire agreement, though talks continue amid intense Western pressure to increase aid to Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday he discussed proposals for governing post-war Gaza, including local Palestinians, regional partners, and the U.S., but described it as "a long and complex process."
Senior U.S. officials in Washington told Gallant they would withhold heavy munitions shipments to Israel pending review, a pause initiated in early May over concerns such weapons could cause more Palestinian deaths in Gaza.
Hamas insists any deal must end the war and secure full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel will only accept temporary pauses until Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, is eradicated.
When Hamas attacked southern Israel last October, they killed about 1,200 people and seized over 250 hostages.
In retaliation, Israel's offensive has killed 37,765 people so far, Gaza health officials said Thursday, leaving the densely populated Gaza Strip in ruins.
