Families trapped in Gaza describe 'robot bomb' terror

Panicked families scrambling to flee Israel's wave of strikes on Gaza City describe dodging "giant robot bombs" as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the city's urban centres.

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The Israeli military advanced on the second day of its widely condemned offensive into the strip's largest city, which the military said its tanks and planes had struck more than 150 times over the past few days.

Relentless tank strikes and airstrikes in the past 24 hours have killed at least 16 people and hit Gaza's only specialist hospital for children, according to Palestinian health authorities, who say the death toll in the territory has almost reached 65,000 since October 2023.

On the ground, fearful families trapped in Gaza City say they are having to navigate remotely operated bomb-packed armoured cars: rigged vehicles that the Israeli media claims its military is now relying on as part of the current ground offensive.

"Today we woke up to terrifying sounds from these massive robots bombs exploding in Gaza's neighbourhoods and streets, causing massive destruction," said Hussein Mansour, 55, who has stayed in Gaza City praying for a ceasefire as it is too expensive to evacuate his wife and child.

The Palestinian authorities estimate that hundreds of thousands of people could still be in Gaza City despite Israel having issued a mass evacuation order. Many cannot afford the $600 (£440) it now costs to rent a vehicle to travel south.

"These robot bombs usually explode at 4am, and are extremely terrifying for everyone, especially children," added Mr Mansour.

Jenin Raffia, 23, a mother looking after a family of eight, also described the unmanned vehicles, saying that "20 boobytrapped robots" had been remotely detonated in the neighbourhood where she was sheltering in Gaza, wiping out large areas at a time.

She said the main road out of Gaza City along the coast is too packed with cars, trucks and donkey carts to get out.