Beleaguered Gazans, having fled the territory’s north, emerged from a night of bombardment wondering where to go next for safety.

Analysis: With nearly the entire Palestinian population of Gaza concentrated in the south, the next phase of Israel's war will create an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.

Israeli ground forces were confronting Hamas fighters across the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Sunday in its clearest indication yet that a planned ground offensive in the enclave's refugee-crowded south had begun as Israeli bombing killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians.

Heavy bombardment in southern Gaza with airstrikes every 10 minutes, according to Unicef official

Eyewitnesses in the southern city of Khan Younis reported tank fire and an aerial bombardment throughout yesterday, as senior IDF officials said troops were operating across all of Gaza. Today, there have been rocket sirens in an Israeli border community just 7km from the city.

Residents heard air strikes and explosions in Khan Younis overnight on Sunday after the military dropped leaflets urging people to move further south.

Middle East Correspondent Alistair Bunkall gives an update on the Israeli offensive in Gaza which they confirmed will move into the densely-populated city of Khan Younis where they believe senior Hamas officials operate.

Israeli troops begin ground operations in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military said its ground forces were active across the Gaza Strip as it bombed swathes of the besieged enclave yesterday, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians while civilians sought shelter in a shrinking area of the south.