Israeli military operations killed 50 people in Gaza on Friday, the territory’s civil defence agency said, as the army stepped up its attacks on Gaza City.
Israel has said it intends to capture the territory’s largest urban centre, which it describes as one of the last strongholds of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the Gaza war.
The United Nations and members of the international community have warned against the assault for fear it will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza City, where the UN has declared a famine.
Britain, France and Germany called in a joint statement for an “immediate” halt to the offensive, saying it was causing civilian casualties and destroying key infrastructure.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said 35 people were killed in the city on Friday, along with another 15 in other parts of the territory.
The Israeli military said it was continuing “its wide-scale strikes on terrorist infrastructure and high-rise structures” in Gaza City.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
Israel began targeting tall buildings in the area a week ago, saying they were being used by Hamas.
It said Friday that it would “intensify the pace of targeted strikes” in order to disrupt Hamas and “reduce the threat to our troops as part of preparations for the next stages of the operation”.
