Israel presses on with intensified attacks as Gaza death toll soars

Israeli forces pressed on with intensified attacks in the Gaza Strip's biggest southern city and a central refugee camp, after the territory's Hamas-run health ministry reported more than 21,000 people had been killed in 11 weeks of war.

The continued air strikes and the expansion of operations in the south came as the WHO warned on Wednesday that Gaza's population was in "grave peril", with France's president calling for a long-term ceasefire.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday that strikes on a central refugee camp in Gaza had entered a third day, and that an additional brigade had been deployed to the southern city of Khan Yunis, the recent focus of heavy urban combat.

He also hinted at a possible "expansion of fighting in the north" along the Lebanese border, which has seen repeated exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants since the war in Gaza broke out.

Following a visit to the border earlier in the day, army chief Herzi Halevi said the military had "approved plans for a variety of contingencies, and we need to be prepared to strike if required".

Israel has repeatedly vowed to keep up its campaign to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its bloody October 7 attack, which left about 1,140 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also took around 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in captivity, Israel says.

Israel's relentless bombardment and ground invasion have killed at least 21,110 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

The army announced the deaths of three more soldiers on Thursday morning, bring the total killed in Gaza to 167.<...