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By Dawoud Abu Alkas, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Edmund Blair
GAZA/CAIRO/ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER (Reuters) - Israeli tanks were seen in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, residents said on Thursday, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to escalate imminently.
Israeli forces control Gaza City's eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.
"The disconnection of internet and phone services is a bad omen. It has always been a bad signal something very brutal is going to happen," said Ismail, who only gave one name. He was using an e-SIM to connect his phone, a dangerous method as it requires seeking higher ground to receive a signal.
At least 79 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, most in Gaza City, the territory's health ministry said early afternoon on Thursday.
INFANTRY, TANKS, ARTILLERY ADVANCING TOWARDS INNER CITY
Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said troops had been operating in the city's periphery for several weeks but since the night of Monday to Tuesday large numbers of troops had begun moving towards the inner city.
He said a combination of infantry, tanks and artillery was advancing, backed up by the air force, and that it was a gradual process that would increase as time went on.
"The strategy right now is to defeat Hamas and apply pressure on Hamas, which can lead to a deal or can lead to rescue missions (to free hostages)," he said.
The Palestinian Telecommunications Company said in a statement that its services had been cut off "due to the ongoing aggression and the targeting of the main network routes".
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel announced on August 10 it intended to take control, but a greater number are staying put, either in battered homes among the ruins or in makeshift tent encampments.
PEOPLE SCARED OF OFFENSIVE BUT MANY HAVE NO WAY TO LEAVE
Bassam Al-Qanou, a displaced man sheltering with around 30 family members in a ragged improvised tent camp on the beach, said they had no way to get out, and nowhere to go.
"We are scared, but what can we do?" he said, adding that the children couldn't sleep because of fear and the incessant boom of missile strikes from sea, air and ground.
The military has been dropping leaflets urging residents to flee towards a designated "humanitarian zone" in the south of the territory, but aid agencies say conditions there are dire, with insufficient food, medicine and space and inadequate shelter.
Four more Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition and starvation in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, raising deaths from such causes to at least 435 people, including 147 children, since the war started.
Israel says the extent of hunger in Gaza has been exaggerated and blames Hamas for the continuation of the war, saying it could end it now if it surrendered, freed the hostages, disarmed and disbanded. Hamas says it won't disarm until a Palestinian state is established.
ISRAEL, HAMAS TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF HARMING CIVILIANS
Shoshani said the situation on the ground was not easy but Israel was taking measures to limit civilian casualties and allow humanitarian assistance. He accused Hamas of dissuading people from leaving the combat zone for the humanitarian zone because the group was using civilians as human shields.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office said Shoshani's allegations were misleading because Israel's claim that there were safe areas in the south was false.
The media office said earlier that 44% of the 3,542 people killed by Israel across the territory since August 11, when it launched its new military offensive, had perished in central and southern areas.
"This confirms that the targeting has been comprehensive and deliberate against the civilian population and against designated shelter areas," said Al-Thawabta.
FAMILIES WITH BELONGINGS EVACUATE TOWARDS THE SOUTH
Along the coastal road, an unbroken column of every type of vehicle from carts and beaten-up cars to vans designed to carry goods was moving south, heavily laden with mattresses, gas cylinders and entire families perching on their belongings.
"We are heading to go sleep on the streets towards the beach, like this barefoot, we don't know where to go," said Yasser Saleh, speaking as he stood on the edge of a rickety trailer being pulled by a car.
The total Palestinian death toll from the two-year war surpassed 65,000 on Wednesday, according to the Gaza health authorities.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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