Israeli troops press on with Gaza City offensive as death toll exceeds 65,000

Several explosions were seen over the Gaza Strip early on Thursday as Israel continues its offensive in the enclave and the Palestinian death toll surpassed 65,000, according to local health officials.

Troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza City, prompting more people to flee the area, with phone and internet services being cut off by Israeli strikes.

According to the Israeli military, its air force and artillery units struck the city more than 150 times this week.

The strikes toppled high-rise towers that Israel claims were being used as military observation points by the militant group Hamas.

Regulators said the severed phone and internet links hindered the ability of Palestinians to call for help, coordinate evacuations, or share details of the offensive that began on Monday with the aim of taking full control of the Strip's largest city.

The Israeli military says it wants to "destroy Hamas' military infrastructure" but hasn't given a timeframe for its offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli officials say Gaza City is the "central hub" of Hamas power.

Since the start of the ground offensive on Monday, some 500,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City, according to IDF data.

Death toll climbs to 65,000, local officials say

At least 16 people were killed in overnight strikes on Wednesday, including women and children, hospital officials reported.

The death toll across Gaza has climbed to 65,062, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government.

The ministry doesn't say how many were civilians or militants but has said women and children make up around half the dead.

Meanwhile, protesters dressed in white, with blood representing hostages killed during the war, gathered near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

They held a banner reading "This is Sparta," a reference to Netanyahu's speech earlier in the week in which he referred to protesters as "Super Sparta."

One of the hostages' fathers, Michel Iluz, lay on the ground next to the protesters in white, demanding his son’s body be returned to Israel for burial.

"We will fight for the return of our children and the restoration of the Israeli ethos. You will be with us here; we will set up a tent city here, everywhere here. We will sleep here; we will sleep here and stay here and make our voices heard before the Prime Minister, who betrayed us and the values on which we were raised," he told the crowd.

Analysts and allies have warned that the latest ground operation further escalates the conflict and puts the lives of the remaining hostages held by Hamas at risk.