Israel intensifies operations in north of Gaza Strip

Israel's armed forces said on Friday that they have stepped up their attacks against the militant Palestinian organization Hamas and other armed groups in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Early on Friday, fighter jets and other aircraft bombed Hamas weapons depots in the refugee settlement in Jabalia, military officials said.

Israeli troops were then able to advance into the centre of the settlement and engage Hamas militants. Around 60 fighters were killed and infrastructure used by them was destroyed, according to the army, which said one Israeli soldier was seriously wounded.

Residents of the refugee camp said the Israeli attack was unusually violent and was also directed at residential buildings and a school crowded with refugees.

According to the accounts, which could not be independently verified, the dead were left in the street as there was no possibility of burying them or taking the injured to hospitals.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, which began on May 6. Troops destroyed a rocket launching site in the east of the city on the border with Egypt, officials said.

Allies including the United States have repeatedly warned Israel against a large-scale attack on Rafah due to the presence there of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians.

However, Israel is adhering to its attack plans in Rafah and the stated goal of smashing one of Hamas' last strongholds.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre of around 1,200 people in southern Israel by fighters from Hamas and allied groups on October 7.

On Friday, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health authority said 35,303 Palestinians have died since the start of the war, and a further 79,261 were injured. The figures, which cannot be independently verified, do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters.