• Hamas staging attacks against Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets
• Death toll in the enclave rises to 42,289

Palestinian medics said yesterday that at least 10 people were killed and 30 injured by Israeli tank shells that hit a food distribution centre in northern Gaza's Jabalia, with casualties including women and children.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. Medics said an Israeli drone had opened fire where dozens of residents had gathered to receive food.

Jabalia has been the focus of an Israeli military offensive for around 10 days. The military completed the encirclement of the historic refugee camp and has sent tanks into the nearby Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun towns, with the declared aim of stamping out Hamas fighters who are trying to regroup there.

The northern part of Gaza, home to well over half the territory's 2.3 million people, was heavily bombed in the first phase of Israel's assault on the territory which began a year ago.

Hundreds of thousands of northern Gaza residents quit their homes in the early months of the war, driven by Israeli evacuation orders and a military ground offensive in their areas, while around 400,000 people remained, according to United Nations estimates.

But months after intense ground fighting there, Israel sent troops back to Jabalia to root out Hamas fighters it said were regrouping for more attacks.

The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their fighters have been staging attacks against the Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.

The health ministry in Gaza said yesterday that at least 42,289 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive that began on October 7, last year. The toll includes 62 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

With the Israeli military calling on Palestinians to evacuate south as they step up pressure on Hamas - and Hamas telling them not to leave because it was too risky - the past few days resemble earlier phases of the war.