Thousands of Gaza City residents left their homes as Israeli ground troops entered crowded residential areas, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
AFP reported on the sound of tank shells and thick black smoke from the neighbourhoods of Tal al-Hawa, Zeitun and Shujaiyeh in Gaza City, the coastal strips main urban hub. Battles raged also in the northern town of Jabaliya and ground troops backed by dozens of tanks lunged at least one kilometreinto the southern town of Khan Yunis, the report added.
According to AFP, in the early morning hours, dozens of terrified Palestinian civilians loaded with babies, toddlers and children fled to the Al-Quds hospital in Tal Al-Hawa, an area in the southwest of Gaza City, that has been the site of repeated Israeli ground incursions over the past week.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes struck some 70 targets overnight, including a mosque in southern Gaza, the military said. Seven Palestinians were killed overnight, medical officials said.
