A mourner is inconsolable as he holds the body of a child from al-Durrah family, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.

In Gaza, the civil defence authority said on Tuesday that Israeli bombardment on homes killed 12 people in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

Seven others were killed in Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza City.

A UN Satellite Centre assessment issued on Monday said "two-thirds of the total structures in the Gaza Strip have sustained damage" in nearly a year of war.

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

 Mourners react near the bodies of Palestinians from al-Durrah family.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

Attacks on Damascus

As Israel announced its ground raids, Syria's official news agency SANA said the country's air defence systems had intercepted three rounds of strikes in the Damascus area.

State television said anchor Safaa Ahmad was killed "in the Israeli aggression" on Damascus, while SANA reported three civilians killed and nine others wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria in recent years.

There was no immediate comment from Hizbollah following the Israeli army's announcement of the ground raids, but the group's al-Manar television reported the Israeli statement on its Telegram channel.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin late Monday gave Washington's backing to Israel "dismantling attack infrastructure along the border".

Hizbollah previously said it is "ready if Israel decides to enter by land".

Agence France-Presse