Israel said its armed forces were increasingly focused on Hamas targets in south Gaza, AFP reports.

Signalling a pivot after weeks of intensive fighting around Gaza City, the Israeli army said troops were now looking to the Hamas stronghold of Khan Younis and elsewhere in the south.

The refugee camp-turned-city is the birthplace and powerbase of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza and the man Israel holds most responsible for the October 7 attack.

South Gaza is the main avenue for humanitarian relief to enter the territory. What little aid arrives into the territory comes, for the most part, across the Egyptian border near Rafah.

For Palestinians in that southern city, the prospect of aid alone was not enough. “We don’t want food, we want a ceasefire,” said Mahmud al-Shaer.

Ahmad al-Burawi, who was displaced from Beit Lahia further north, added: “We just want to return to our lands, that’s all. We want a solution” to end the war.