Dozens reported killed in overnight Gaza air strikes

At least 70 people on Thursday have been reported killed in overnight air strikes in Gaza, according to news agencies citing Hamas-run Palestinian health sources.

The Reuters news agency cited Palestinian medics as saying that Israeli strikes hit several homes in northern and southern areas of Gaza.

The death toll cannot be independently verified.

IDF conducting limited ground operation

Israel's military has not yet commented on the latest developments but said on Wednesday that troops had begun "targeted ground activities in central and southern Gaza" to expand a security buffer zone.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that troops "took control and re-extended their control to the center of the Netzarim corridor."

Israeli forces had withdrawn from the corridor, a military zone that divides Gaza into northern and southern halves, as part of the ceasefire agreement in January.

The IDF also denied reports that it had struck a UN compound in Deir el Balah in which the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said at least one staffer was killed.

Israel resumed strikes on Tuesday in which more than 400 people were killed, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health authorities.

Return to hostilities

Israel and the militant group Hamas reached an agreement in January for the first phase of a broader ceasefire agreement to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The first phase of the deal went through more or less as planned, but it expired earlier this March.

Both Israel and Hamas have been unable to resolve differences over subsequent phases of the ceasefire agreement ever since.

Hamas has refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement since the first phase of the truce ended.

Israel has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and relinquishes control of the territory.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse