Israel is pounding Gaza City with some of the heaviest strikes in two years of war in its bid to force residents to make a perilous and costly journey towards the overcrowded south.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, warned Gaza City’s beleaguered population on Friday that it would be deploying “unprecedented force”, telling them to “take this opportunity and join the hundreds of thousands” moving south on al-Rashid coastal road – now the only permitted escape route.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum related “distressing” reports from Gaza City on Friday, with people forced west towards the coastal road unable to rest under the relentless pace of attacks aimed at levelling buildings and infrastructure.

“This current military operation is completely destroyi

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