Hundreds of Palestinians killed in 24 hours as Israelis target refugee camp

Israel continued with its intense bombing campaign across the north and south of Gaza for a third day since the end of the truce with Hamas, killing hundreds of Palestinians in a 24-hour period, according to officials.

- Dan Sabbagh

The Jabaliya refugee camp in the north was hit, with initial reports saying that "tens of people" had been killed and at least one residential block destroyed.

About 300 people were reported to be sheltering in the vicinity of the latest strike, in the camp area that has been targeted repeatedly by Israel over the past month, although it was not possible to verify exact numbers.

Heavy bombing was also reported in the southern city of Khan Younis, increasingly the focus of Israeli attacks, while its military demanded further evacuation of civilians from areas of the city, telling them to head south to Rafah or to the west.

Ismael al-Thawabteh, the director general of the government media office in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that more than 700 Palestinians had been killed in a 24-hour period to noon. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said later that 15,523 Palestinians had been killed since the start of the war, including 316 dead and 664 wounded "in the past hours".

An estimated 1.8 million people are internally displaced according to UN'S OCHA humanitarian agency, and images showed Palestinians trying to leave parts of Khan Younis in line with Israeli demands to evacuate.

On Saturday night, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had directed the military to attack Gaza with "increasing force" and repeated that his country's aim was to eliminate Hamas as a political and military organisation.