The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave housing more than 2 million Palestinians.

Gaza City has come under intense air attack, the territory's Hamas-run civil defence agency has said, as Israeli forces prepare to occupy the city. Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman, said the residential areas of Zeitoun and Sabra had for three days been hit by bombs and drone strikes that "cause massive destruction to civilian homes",

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel plans to widen its coming offensive beyond Gaza City to the last areas not yet under Israeli control.