Rafah

Israel bombed Gaza on Saturday as the United Nations warned the Palestinian territory has become "uninhabitable" after three months of fighting that threatens to engulf the wider region.

AFP correspondents reported Israeli strikes early Saturday on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter from the fighting.

Shelling and missile strikes rocked the length of the Gaza Strip overnight into Tuesday, after Israel's army warned its war against the territory's Hamas rulers will last through 2024.

Nearly three months of conflict have claimed almost 22,000 lives in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and devastated much of the besieged territory.

Israel's relentless bombardments in Gaza for nearly three months destroyed 70 percent of the houses in the besieged strip, leaving nearly 1.5 million people homeless, the Hamas-run government's media office has revealed.

After nearly three months of deadly strikes, incessant displacements and sputtering humanitarian aid, "exhausted" Gazans say they are desperate for an end to the fighting as Israel's war against Hamas looks set to grind on into the new year.

The US has said "very serious" talks are underway for a new ceasefire in Gaza and the release of more Israeli hostages. However, prospects for a deal remain uncertain as the Palestinian group Hamas insists it will only discuss an end to the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave. Talks in Cairo on a new cease-fire failed to produce a deal.

Israel has ordered more evacuations in southern Gaza's main city as diplomats pressed on with efforts to secure a pause in the war that Hamas says has claimed 20,000 lives.

The United Nations said Israel had issued evacuation orders on Wednesday for large areas of Khan Yunis, where more than 140,000 displaced people were sheltering.

Israel faced another round of global pressure on Tuesday for a ceasefire in Gaza with a new U.N. vote and fresh Western diplomatic efforts, although the United States vowed to continue arming its ally.

The U.N. Security Council was set to convene Tuesday to weigh a call for a ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian territory, after a previous bid was vetoed by the United States.

Israel pressed its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday after telling key backer the United States that the war to crush Hamas will last "more than several months".

Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring home an estimated 240 hostages taken by militants into Gaza, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has left swathes of the besieged territory in ruins.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be in Israel today and tomorrow.

The UN has again emphasized that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. According to the Palestinian side, 18,600 people died in the Israeli operation against Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that Israel has encircled key areas under the control of Hamas in northern Gaza, in the Jabalia refugee camp and in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City. The battalions of the movement are "on the verge of disintegration", and participants in the attack on October 7 are among those arrested.