Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, report finding it harder to find food amid bakery closures. Israel says enough food entered Gaza during a six-week ceasefire with Hamas to sustain the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians for “a long period of time.”

Israel's defense minister said expanding operations will "crush and clean the area" of militants, despite children making up many of the strikes' victims.

At least 19 people are reported killed in Jabalia as Israel's defence minister says it is expanding ground operations.

Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel,

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel.

Israel Katz warned that “large areas” of the enclave would be seized and added to military-controlled security zones, suggesting that the country intended to hold on to more territory.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says the military will expand its operation in Gaza and seize "large areas" of the territory. In a statement on Wednesday, Katz said the expanded operation aimed to "destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure".

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.