Gun battles between Israel and militants from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and smaller Palestinian factions intensified overnight into some of the fiercest in months in both northern and southern Gaza, both sides said on Wednesday.

The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.

Israel's tanks pushed into the heart of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Thursday, facing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs from militants concentrated there, while in the south, its forces pounded Rafah without advancing,

Thomson Reuters Palestinians carry the dead body of a man at Zeitoun neighborhood after Israeli forces withdrew from the area following a raid, in Gaza City Palestinians carry the dead body of a man at Zeitoun neighborhood after Israeli forces withdrew from the area following a raid,

Fighting in Rafah has closed off a vital border crossing in southern Gaza, forced hundreds of thousands to flee and cut off humanitarian aid.

Palestinians sit at their house which was destroyed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip May 14, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli troops fought militants across Gaza on Wednesday,

South Africa is also seeking to force Israel to allow "unimpeded access" to Gaza for aid workers, journalists and investigators. The court is already considering a case brought by South Africa in January accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s two war-cabinet partners are openly challenging his indecision over postwar Gaza — even siding with the US in pushing for Palestinian rule of the devastated coastal strip.