Israel strikes kill at least 50, Gaza rescuers say

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on Thursday killed at least 50 people in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 13 people were "recovered from rubble" after a dawn strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, while another 35 were killed in 12 separate strikes across the Gaza Strip.

Bassal added that in southern Gaza, one woman was killed in artillery shelling, and one man by gunfire.

The Israeli government approved plans to expand the offensive earlier this month, and spoke of the "conquest" of Gaza.

Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.