Israeli troops pounded the centre of Gaza on Wednesday, with Palestinian authorities reporting dozens dead, including 20 in a single attack.
Despite growing international calls for a ceasefire amid the humanitarian crisis, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said the fighting would last “many months” and there were no “magic solutions” or “shortcuts”.
The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement that an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed 20 Palestinians near Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Telecoms outages across much of the enclave hampered attempts to contact Palestinian victims overnight, but communications were gradually restored by mid-morning.
In the central Gaza neighbourhood of al-Maghazi, five Palestinians were killed in a single airstrike, while in northern Gaza City, medical officials said the bodies of seven Palestinians who died overnight had been received at Al-Shifa hospital.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military reported three more soldiers killed in Gaza, bringing the total military casualties in the enclave since the start of ground operations on 20 October to 166.
Israel has stepped up its raids this week, especially in the central area south of the waterway that crosses the narrow coastal strip. The Israeli army has ordered civilians to leave the area, although many said there was no safe place there.
