Sawt Falasteen - Israel expands campaign in Gaza ahead of Netanyahu's US visit

The intensified operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump -- whom Netanyahu is slated to meet with next week -- among those urging Israel to strike a new deal to halt the war and bring home the hostages still held in Gaza.

Israel's campaign to destroy the Palestinian militant group Hamas has continued unabated, however, with Gaza's civil defence agency reporting Israeli forces killed 17 people on Tuesday.

In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".

Separately, it said Tuesday morning that in recent days it had "expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists, and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground".

Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City district, said "air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week", and tanks have been advancing.

"I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground," he said. "I don't know why."

Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City, also reported fiercer clashes between Israeli forces and militants in recent days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were living in at dawn on Tuesday "due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling".

In the southern city of Rafah, resident Mohammed Abdel Aal, 41, said "tanks are present" in most parts of town.

- Aid seekers killed -

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza Tuesday, in the latest in a long-running spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food.

One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the middle of the territory, Bassal said.

The civil defence said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid centre.

Asked for comment, the Israeli military told AFP its forces "fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops", adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incident.

At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defence said.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.

A group of 169 aid organisations called Monday for an end to Gaza's "deadly" new US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme, which they said forced starving civilians to "trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race" for food.

They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Hamas.

The new scheme's administrator, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has distanced itself from reports of aid seekers being killed near its centres.

The Israeli army said it had also opened a review into a strike on a seafront Gaza cafe on Monday that it said had targeted militants.

The civil defence agency reported that the attack killed 24 people.

Maher Al-Baqa, 40, the brother of the owner of the cafe, told AFP that several of his relatives including two nephews were killed in the strike.

"It's one of the most well-known cafes on the Gaza coast, frequented by educated youth, journalists, artists, doctors, engineers and hardworking people," he said.

"They used to feel free and safe there -- it was like a second home to them."

The military maintained it had taken steps "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance".

- PM's US visit -

Netanyahu announced he would visit Trump and senior US security officials next week, after previously saying Israel's campaign against Iran had created "opportunities", including for freeing hostages held in Gaza.

Israel's declaration of victory in the recent 12-day war has raised pressure on it to put a similar end to more than 20 months of devastating fighting in Gaza.

"Taking advantage of the success is no less important than achieving the success," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP the group is "ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces".

"So far, there has been no breakthrough."

R.Shaban--SF-PST