Deaths, devastation as Israeli forces push into Gaza City

More Palestinians at risk of displacement as soldiers, tanks hit crowded neighbourhoods

- CAIRO

CAIRO - The Israeli military moved deeper into Gaza City on Sept 3, with soldiers and tanks pushing into Sheikh Radwan, one of the urban centre's largest and most crowded neighbourhoods.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces have advanced through Gaza City's outer suburbs and are now just a few kilometres from the city centre despite international calls to halt the offensive.

Gaza City residents said the military had destroyed homes and tent encampments that had housed Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.

At least 24 Palestinians, some of them children, were killed by the military across Gaza on Sept 3, most of them in Gaza City, according to local health officials.

"Sheikh Radwan is being burnt upside down. The occupation destroyed houses, burnt tents, and drones played audio messages ordering people to leave the area," said Ms Zakeya Sami, 60, a mother of five, referring to the Israeli military.

"If the takeover of Gaza City isn't stopped, we might die, and we are not going to forgive anyone who stands and watches without doing anything to prevent our death," she told Reuters.

The military dropped grenades on three schools in the Sheikh Radwan area that had been used to shelter displaced Palestinians, setting tents ablaze, according to residents. They said the Palestinians fled before the bombing.