“So far, there are no direct confrontations between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces. It is all an aerial campaign that continues to bring more devastation and grief to thousands of families on the ground,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.

“Israel’s bombardment [has hit numerous] residential areas and makeshift tents. The focus has pretty much been on targeting Hamas’s senior and mid-ranking officials, including those working in the political and security councils,” he said.

Civilians caught in the middle have also been suffering amid the absolute devastation.

“We understand that many families in the past hours have received new evacuation orders for new Gaza City neighbourhoods, ordering them to move south.

“Many families rejected these orders, saying they have nowhere to turn and that the south has also been actively bombarded,” he said.