Israeli Strikes Intensify in Central Gaza

Residents reported heavy Israeli fire in central Gaza, with regional tensions soaring after Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals.

Authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported dozens of new air strikes in the central region where most Israeli troops have regrouped in recent days.

Israel's military said its aircraft had struck more than 60 militant targets in Gaza over the previous day.

The Hamas media office said 25 people were taken to hospital in Deir al-Balah "as a result of an air strike on a house".

"We want an end to the situation we are living in. Enough!" says a Palestinian man standing in the rubble following a strike on Gaza's central Maghazi refugee camp.

The war began with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack against Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,634 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.

The latest bombardments in Gaza came after Israel said it had strengthened air defenses and paused leave for combat units, following a deadly April 1 air strike that destroyed Iran's consulate building in Damascus.

Iran blamed its arch foe Israel, which has stepped up strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria since the Gaza war began.

A US defense official said the Pentagon was "moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for US forces."

Washington has ramped up pressure on Netanyahu to increase aid flows to Gaza in the face of UN warnings of imminent famine.

The Israeli army said that an undisclosed number of aid trucks had been allowed to enter Gaza through a newly opened border crossing into the north of the territory.