Israeli troops battle Hamas in southern Gaza

Israeli troops battled Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday after expanding their offensive deeper into the besieged territory, with warnings that an "even more hellish scenario" was unfolding for trapped civilians.

Israel had initially focused its offensive on the north of the territory, but the army has now also dropped leaflets on parts of the south, telling Palestinian civilians there to flee to other areas.

Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers were seen on Monday near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, which is packed with civilians who fled their homes further north in the territory earlier in the war, witnesses told the media.

An AFP journalist in Rafah near Gaza's border with Egypt saw smoke rising late Monday from buildings in southern Gaza after Israeli bombardment.

This photo shows a Palestinian paramedic that was wounded during Israeli bombardment on Tuesday. AFP

Israeli army said on Monday it was taking "aggressive" action against Hamas and other groups in Khan Yunis, warning that the main road in the north and east of the city "constitutes a battlefield".

Hamas claimed via Telegram its militants had targeted two personnel carriers and a tank near Khan Yunis.

Its military branch also said it had fired rockets towards Beersheba in southern Israel on Tuesday, while the Israeli military said rocket warning sirens sounded there.

As Israel's offensive pushes deeper into Gaza, international aid organisations have warned that civilians in the densely populated territory are running out of places to flee to.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go," said Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.

Palestinians wounded during Israeli bombardment are carried into Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on Tuesday. AFP

"If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond," Hastings said in a statement.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the war has killed nearly 15,900 people in the territory, around 70 percent of them women and children.

Agence France-Presse