At least 61 people, including 19 aid seekers, were killed Thursday as Israeli forces intensified strikes on Gaza City, targeting neighborhoods like Shujayea, Zeitoun, and Sabra.

Residents reported mass displacement, with families fleeing toward the coast amid heavy bombardment that Gaza’s civil defence said destroyed more than 1,500 homes.

Israel is preparing a major ground assault on Gaza’s largest urban center, which it calls Hamas’s last stronghold, Al-Jazeera has reported.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the offensive marks a “new and dangerous phase” of the war, condemning the humanitarian catastrophe and urging it to stop.