Israel has encircled the main city in Gaza’s south amid the heaviest fighting since the ground invasion began.

Backed by warplanes, Israeli forces reached the heart of Khan Younis as officials revealed they had struck at approximately 250 “terror targets”.

The Israeli Defence Forces added that ground troops are continuing to find “weapons, underground shafts and explosives”.

During the attacks, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants were killed, it claimed.

Hamas’ armed wing, the al Qassam Brigades, said its fighters engaged in clashes with the Israeli military, killing or wounding eight Israeli troops and destroying 24 military vehicles.

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