On Friday, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 30 Palestinians had been killed in the territory in the past 24 hours, including 20 in Gaza City.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it had struck a tower block there, which it claimed was being used by Hamas.
It said precautionary measures had been taken to mitigate harm to civilians, “including advance warnings to the population” and the use of “precise munitions”.
It added that it had identified “significant Hamas terrorist activity within a wide variety of infrastructure sites in Gaza City, and particularly in high-rise buildings,” adding it would target those sites “in the coming days”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans a month ago to take control of Gaza City after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down in July.
Israel has intensified its operations around Gaza City in recent weeks, and says its offensive has established control of some 40% of the city, which it claims is a stronghold of Hamas.
The UN and aid groups have warned that the offensive is already having “horrific humanitarian consequences” for displaced families sheltering in the city, which is home to a million people and where a famine was confirmed last month.
Satellite imagery shows several neighbourhoods in parts of the city have been levelled by Israeli strikes and demolitions over the past month.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led 7 October attack in 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 more were taken hostage.
At least 64,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The ministry also says 376 people have died during the war so far as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including three over the past 24 hours.