Israel orders civilians to evacuate as tanks storm Gaza City districts

Residents say air strikes, artillery barrages among the heaviest attacks on Gaza Strip

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CAIRO - Israeli tanks advanced into the heart of Gaza City from different directions on July 8 and Israel ordered Palestinian civilians to evacuate neighbourhoods after a night of bombardments which the Gaza authorities said had killed dozens.

Residents said the air strikes and artillery barrages which took place as multinational negotiations for a ceasefire deal intensified were among the heaviest attacks on the Gaza Strip in nine months of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.

Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian enclave, was one of the first areas that Israeli troops moved into at the start of the war. But fighting with militants still holding out there has persisted and civilians have sought shelter elsewhere, adding to multiple waves of displacement. Much of the city lies in ruins.

Residents said neighbourhoods in Gaza City had been bombed throughout the night into the early hours of the morning. Several multi-floor buildings have been destroyed, they added.

The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people were killed, but emergency teams were unable to reach them because of offensives in Daraj and Tuffah in the east and Tel Al-Hawa, Sabra and Rimal farther west.

Gaza residents said tanks advanced from at least three directions and reached the heart of Gaza City, backed by heavy Israeli fire from the air and ground. That forced thousands of people out of their homes to look for safer shelter, which for many was impossible to find, and some slept on the roadside.