Israel says Hamas uses hospitals and civilians as human shields, and has made public videos and photos to support that claim. Hamas rejects the allegations and says it does not use the civilian population or facilities for military purposes.

Scores of people were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes on houses in northern Gaza where displaced people were sheltering, according to media reports and agencies run by Gaza's Hamas-led administration.

Hospital officials in northern Gaza say many people have been killed in overnight Israeli air strikes. Gazan rescue teams say search operations began early in the morning after Israel bombed at least five buildings in Beit Lahia and Gaza City.