Israeli forces today carried out new operations in the Gaza Strip, hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the US Congress, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The latest Israeli attacks destroyed homes in towns east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and forced thousands of people to head west to seek refuge, local residents said.
The Palestinian Authority for Emergency Situations said it received calls for help from residents trapped in their homes in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, but officials were unable to reach the town.
The Israeli army, which is trying to eliminate the Islamist group "Hamas", said it has been operating in areas from which the Islamists have fired rockets at Israel and launched attacks against the Israeli military.
Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes over the past 24 hours have killed at least 55 people - the latest casualties in a war that health officials in the enclave say has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.
Local residents say they have been ordered to head west to a designated humanitarian zone, but that the area is no longer safe.
Israeli forces also carried out airstrikes in several areas in the central and northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several Palestinians, health officials said.
Residents of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, said Israeli forces blew up several houses in the western part of the city.
The Israeli Prime Minister will speak to Congress today, and tomorrow he will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House. Separately, on Friday, Netanyahu will meet in Florida with the presidential candidate of the Republican Party, Donald Trump.
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters: "Congress's invitation to Netanyahu to give a speech legitimizes the crimes of the genocidal war in Gaza. Hosting a war criminal is a shame for all Americans.