Israel pounds Gaza as threat of Iran attack puts region on edge

France urges citizens to avoid travelling there as more strikes hit central Gaza

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GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories Residents reported heavy Israeli fire in central Gaza on April 12, with regional tensions soaring after Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria in April that killed two Iranian generals.

As ceasefire talks aiming to pause the six-month-old war dragged on, fears that Iran could soon launch an attack on Israel spurred France to recommend its citizens to avoid travelling to the region.

Mr Mohammed al-Rayes, 61, said he fled Israeli "air strikes and artillery shelling" in Nuseirat in central Gaza overnight.

"It was all fire and destruction, with so many martyrs lying in the street," he said.

Another resident, Ms Laila Nasser, 40, reported "shells and missiles" throughout the night.

"They will do to Nuseirat what they did to Khan Younis," she said, vowing to flee to the southernmost city of Rafah, like most of Gaza's population.

Israel last week pulled its troops from the devastated city of Khan Younis after months of fighting, but officials said they were preparing for operations against Hamas militants in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

The authorities in the Hamas-ruled coastal Palestinian territory on April 12 reported dozens of new air strikes in Gaza's central region.

The Hamas media office said 25 people were taken to hospital in Deir al-Balah city "as a result of an air strike on a house of the al-Tabatibi family".

Israel's military said its aircraft struck more than 60 militant targets in Gaza the previous day.

The war began with Hamas' unprecedented Oct 7 attack against Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.