Israel relentlessly bombs Gaza on war's first anniversary

Israel intensified its air and ground offensive in Gaza as the first anniversary of the war that has devastated much of the territory and shattered countless lives is observed.

On Monday, Israeli tanks advanced into Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic urban refugee camps, after encircling it, residents said.

Soon after the rocket volley, the Israeli military expanded evacuation orders in Jabalia to cover areas in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

Residents said Israeli forces pounded Jabalia from the air and the ground, and medics said several Palestinians had been killed, with rescuers unable to reach some of the victims.

Later on Monday, Palestinian medics said an Israeli air strike killed five Palestinians to the west of Jabalia.

The Israeli military said the operation would continue to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Israel targets hospital compound

In the central city of Deir al Balah, where a million displaced people are sheltering, an Israeli air strike hit tents inside al-Aqsa Hospital, wounding 11 people, Palestinian medics said.

The Israeli military claimed it struck at Hamas members operating from a command centre embedded inside the hospital.

The Israeli army later ordered residents in some eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis in southern Gaza to leave their homes, and many families started doing so, loading belongings on donkey carts and rickshaws.

In Gaza on Monday, uprooted Palestinian civilians expressed a desperate desire to go back to pre-war lives.

"Before Oct. 7, one had dreams. As a father, I have six children, my biggest burden was how to provide them with homes and get them married. But after Oct. 7, this came to nothing. After 58 years of work for me, same as my father - all of it went to dust and rocks," said Abu Hassan Shaheen.