The Israeli military said it was looking into reports about the deaths at a school-turned-shelter, which came as Israel was intensifying its offensive in Gaza to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a school in northern Gaza that was serving as a shelter for displaced families, the Hamas-run health ministry says.Dozens more were wounded when the Dar al-Arqam school in the north-eastern Tuffah district of Gaza City was hit,

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the pressure on Gaza would increase until the remaining hostages were returned to Israel. “The more they do not give (back the hostages), the more the pressure will increase until they do,” vowed the Israeli Prime Minster in a video statement released on Wednesday.

Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to "crush" the area of Hamas and seize "large areas," Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday.

The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an "execution".

As Israel orders wide new evacuations across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians say they are crushed by exhaustion and hopelessness at the prospect of fleeing once again.

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones.

At least 19 people are reported killed in Jabalia as Israel's PM says it is expanding ground operations to pressure Hamas.