Israel moved into a neighborhood in Gaza City on Thursday, ordering Palestinians to go south as tanks rolled in, while also bombing the southern city of Rafah in what it says are the final stages of an operation against Hamas militants there.
Residents of the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza City said they were surprised by the sound of tanks approaching and firing in the early afternoon, with drones also attacking after the overnight bombing of the city, which Israel had combed early in the war.
"It sounded as if the war is restarting, a series of bombings that destroyed several houses in our area and shook the buildings," Mohammad Jamal, 25, a resident of Gaza City, said via a chat app.