Israel to 'increase pace' of Gaza city shelling after 500 attacks in a week

Palestinians forced to march in columns in West Bank crackdown

Israel is bombarding Gaza city tower blocks in its latest air campaign in the strip. Reuters

Israel said on Friday it will "continue to increase the pace" of its bombardment of Gaza city after a destructive air campaign hit 500 targets in a week.

Dozens of people were killed as Israel shelled the city again on Friday. In the occupied West Bank, troops marched Palestinians in columns as they stepped up raids and arrests in retaliation for a shooting in Jerusalem.

Israel has destroyed a series of high-rise buildings in Gaza saying that Hamas is using them for espionage, which the group denies. The Israeli military said it carried out five waves of strikes against 500 Gaza city targets this week alone.

The Israeli army "will continue to increase the pace of attacks in a targeted manner, based on accurate intelligence", it said. Its aim is to "reduce the threat to our forces as part of the preparations for the next phases of the operation".

In the occupied West Bank, at least 20 people have been arrested this week in what Israel calls Operation Protect Jerusalem. Palestinian news agency Wafa said people were "marched in single file" through the city of Tulkarm before being interrogated.

Palestinians have been forced to march in columns during an Israeli crackdown in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Footage showed people marching in a line with their hands on the next person's shoulders, flanked by soldiers. Wafa said Israeli forces stormed and ransacked houses, questioned their occupants and turned several buildings into "military outposts". The Israeli army said it had confiscated weapons and ISIS flags.

The latest unrest in the occupied West Bank follows the killing of six Israelis at a bus stop near Jerusalem on Monday. Israel vowed to go after "nests of terror" and hinted it would "flatten" West Bank buildings.

Israeli army marches Palestinians in single file through occupied West Bank city

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Hamas claimed responsibility for the shooting by two gunmen. A day later, Israel bombed Qatar in an attempt to kill Hamas leaders, plunging the Middle East into uncharted territory.

The strike appeared to have failed to kill Hamas's top leadership. The group's main negotiator in Doha, Khalil Al Hayya, survived but lost his son, whose funeral he attended "under special security arrangements", Hamas said on Friday.

Two people were stabbed and injured at a hotel near Jerusalem on Friday, in what Israeli police called a second terrorist incident in five days. They said the attacker came from a Palestinian refugee camp in Jerusalem.

Israeli police at the scene of a stabbing attack at a hotel near Jerusalem. AFP

The knifeman was a hotel worker who emerged from a kitchen and stabbed two guests in the dining room, according to Israeli emergency services. They said a guest aged about 60 was badly injured, and a 23-year-old moderately hurt.

Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it. Israel has warned Hamas its leaders could be targeted anywhere in the Middle East and beyond, as it tries to deal a decisive blow to the group with a new offensive in Gaza city.

Wafa said at least 36 people were killed across Gaza on Friday as Israel's bombardment of Gaza city shows no sign of relenting. Fourteen people were reportedly killed in one strike on a house.

Leaflets were again dropped over Gaza city, telling Palestinians to move south. Israel last month declared the entire city a "dangerous combat zone" and has stepped up pressure on residents to leave.

Israel has dropped leaflets over Gaza city urging people to leave for the south. AFP

Many are reluctant to do so despite the UN declaring a famine, fearing Israel plans to relocate them for good. Many Palestinians who did move south have arrived to miserable conditions in southern Gaza, in areas such as Al Mawasi.

Hopes for a ceasefire have been all but extinguished by Israel's attack on Hamas negotiators in Qatar, one of the countries trying to negotiate a deal. Arab countries condemned the attack and will hold a summit this weekend to discuss their response.

The latest escalation comes only days before the UN General Assembly meets in New York at a crunch moment for Middle East peace hopes. Several countries plan to officially recognise Palestine in the hope of reviving a two-state peace process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a fierce opponent of Palestinian statehood, which the US also rejects. "We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state," Mr Netanyahu said on Thursday at a signing ceremony for a new Israeli settlement project near Jerusalem.