Israeli strikes in Gaza heaviest since start of conflict

By Nathan Morely

Israel is continuing its renewed bombardment of Gaza for a third day.

The Israeli army has told residents in the southern town of Khan Younis to leave immediately. However, those in the settlement – including thousands who had fled from the north -- say it is impossible to follow the orders in good time due to lack of phone access and electricity.

A senior advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, Mark Regev, said Israel was doing all it could to keep civilians safe. ‘We are urging people to leave so they are not caught up in the crossfire,’ he said. ‘And we’ve designated specific safer areas for people to move to – the whole idea is to save lives.’

Over the last 48-hours, Israeli warplanes have been conducting extensive airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israelis say they had struck more than 400 Hamas targets on the first day of the renewed campaign.

Elsewhere, the US Vice President Kamala Harris says too many Palestinians have already been killed, with a "devastating" amount of human suffering.

Meanwhile, Hamas health officials say more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began nearly 8 weeks ago.

On Friday, the Israel military restarted its attack against Hamas in Gaza, launched in reaction to the 7 October attacks in Israel which killed 1,200 people.