Israeli strikes on Gaza kill dozens as Hamas says ceasefire talks back to square one

Strikes reported in various sectors of the coastal territory, including Rafah

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza as Israeli warplanes and artillery attacked overnight, with Hamas saying Israel’s rejection of a ceasefire proposal has taken talks back to where they started.

At least 24 bodies have arrived at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday.

The assault was heaviest in the central and eastern areas of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, with air strikes against the Al Salam neighbourhood in the southern city and the vicinity of the Rafah crossing, Wafa reported.

Israel said it would proceed with an assault on Rafah, where it believes Hamas fighters are dug in.

On Saturday, the Israeli army instructed residents in the northern cities of the Gaza Strip to relocate to the western part of Gaza city.

Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets in the northern Gaza Strip showing a new map where residents of Jabalya camp, Al Salam, Tal Al Zattar, Al Noor, Beit Lahya and other areas in the north should move to for safety – in the west of Gaza city.

It also urged the residents living in cities in the east and centre of Rafah city to relocate to Khan Yunis and Al Muwasi.

Most of Rafah’s residents have left the city and moved to Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip or to Al Muwasi areas west of Rafah and Khan Yunis.

The Israeli army said about 300,000 people have this week left eastern Rafah for a humanitarian area since it ordered people to move.

“So far, approximately 300,000 Gazans have moved towards the humanitarian area in Al Muwasi” since the order was issued on Monday, the military said in a statement.

Tanks have sealed off eastern Rafah from the south this week, capturing and shutting the only Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a vital route for supplies to the Palestinian enclave.

An advance on Friday to the Salahuddin road that bisects the Gaza Strip completed the encirclement of the “red zone”, where Israel has ordered residents out.

The Israeli military claimed its forces in eastern Rafah had located several tunnel shafts, and troops backed by an air strike fought at close quarters with groups of Hamas fighters, killing several.

Israel’s plan for an all-out assault on Rafah has ignited one of the biggest rifts with its main ally, the US. Washington held up a weapons shipment over fears of the extent of civilian casualties.

The White House said it was closely watching the Israeli operations “with concern,” but they appeared to be localised around the Rafah crossing and did not indicate a large-scale invasion.

Medical sources have said that at least eight people were killed in the ongoing shelling in the Al Zaytoun neighborhood south of Gaza city.

At least seven people were killed in Israeli air strikes on dozens of houses in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, Wafa said.